Bright Eyes
by DanniFielding
Summary: Since Amelia was little, all she wanted to do was sing with the angels who kept her safe. Her Godfather didn't understand, so Dean helped her keep it hidden. Then, when home for spring break, she meets an angel in a trench coat and now he's all she hears. Cas/OC.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello Everyone! Welcome to my Supernatural fanfic. What can I tell you about it? Not a great deal, if I'm honest XD_

_It's gonna be a Cas/OC, but probably not for such a long time. There's no update schedule, but I'll update more when my Doctor Who fanfic is finished._

_Enjoy!_

_~0~0~0~_

A little girl sat in the middle of a car grave yard, her blonde hair up in ponytails as she twisted one part of a discarded engine into another, having absolutely no idea what she was doing but her oily hands clung to the pieces of metal as she 'fixed' the parts. She wanted to be just like her Goddaddy, who was looking after her until her mommy came back from work. She'd been gone an awful long time, but she didn't really mind. She spent a lot of time away from her mommy and she really liked her Goddaddy so while other children might be anxious, she just played away with the bits of car she found lying around.

"Amelia, sweetheart!" Her Goddaddy called and she looked up, smiling widely as he headed towards her, with his baseball cap and fuzzy beard. He looked sad behind his brave smile and he crouched down in front of her, "What are you doing?" He asked kindly.

"Makin' engine." She replied, biting her lip in concentration. He laughed and she stopped, smiling her little smile with her missing teeth. He laughed like Santa Claus sometimes.

"And how's that coming along?" He asked and she poked it, a frown appearing when nothing happened.

"S'not lookin' too good." She said, mimicking him unknowingly. He saw it though and it made his heart ache. She shouldn't me mimicking him, it should be her mom.

"Well, I have a better idea." He told her teasingly and she stared at him with big, blue eyes, "Guess who's staying for a few days too?" He shared the grin that exploded onto her face. She scrambled up, running towards the house as he followed her.

"Dean!" She screamed happily at the 10 year old boy stood with his 6 year old brother. He smiled widely as she rushed over, chucking her arms around him as he pulled her into a big bear hug, lifting her off the floor. Their father was stood to one side, watching as she did the same with Sam, who hugged her back but maybe not as enthusiastically.

"Are you sure you'll be fine with the three of them?" John Winchester asked as Bobby Singer walked up to him. Bobby brushed it off.

"We'll be fine." He replied as Amelia pulled Dean up the stairs, wanting to show them her new room. Sam trailed after them, not left out but Amelia had taken quite the shine to Dean. Bobby wasn't much for decorating, but he'd tried his best to make her feel at home.

"So, Mary's really dead?" John asked and Bobby nodded with a sigh, suddenly looking tired.

"Yeah, took down a bunch of the bastards with her though." He explained as if it was a consolation prize.

"And you're just going to take her in?" John asked in disbelief and again Bobby nodded, "Didn't see you as the father-type."  
"Me neither, if I'm honest with you." Bobby admitted, "But it's either that or she goes into care, and we both know she'll end up more screwed in there than with me." He was terrified, he wasn't ashamed to admit that. Who wouldn't be with what he had to grow up under? But he was determined to not be like his own dad, it was a shame it was at the expense of the poor girl's mother.

_~0~0~0~_

"And this is my new bed!" Amelia exclaimed, jumping on the pink castle-shaped bed, "Uncle Bobby said it was just for me because I'm going to live here for forever now." She rambled as Dean forced himself to look impress. A pink castle? Really, he wasn't going to like it but she did and so he faked it, "And then, after forever is up, my mommy will come back and then I can take it with me." Dean frowned, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Amy, do you know what forever means?" He asked her and she nodded.

"It means a really, really long time." She told him proudly and he nodded. He knew what that meant, it meant her mom was dead. Like his and Sam's was. He glanced over at his brother, who was playing with Amy's new car play set. Sometimes he was glad Sam had only been a baby when their mom died, because he didn't miss her like he did. Sam knew there was someone missing, but he couldn't remember a time she had been there. Dean, he missed her terribly and he knew Amy would remember like he did as well.

"It does." He humoured, realising she didn't know what her mom being away meant, and he didn't want to shatter her happiness like his and Sam's had been, "What should we play first?" He asked knowingly and she broke out into a grin.

"Helicop'er!" She exclaimed, chucking her arms in the air.

"Oh, no!" He groaned exaggeratedly, "We can't play that. You're too big now." She shook her head.

"Nu-uh!" She protested, "I'm only 5, Sammy's older than me, which makes me the smallest." Sam looked up, alarmed.

"I wanna do it too!" He exclaimed worried and Amy shook her head.

"Me first!" She argued and Sam stood up.

"No, I'm his brother." He pointed out with a little kid smirk.

"But I'm his friend." She cried.

"Doesn't matter." Sam told her, "Brother's come first." She pouted and Dean suppressed his smile at the two little kids arguing. Normal times were something he craved for, and this was one of them rare moments he could imagine happening in other families around the world.

"But, but, but!" She stuttered, "I'm gonna marry him!" She threw out as her last resort and it was Dean's turn to look alarmed.

"Wait, what?" He asked and Sam looked confused.

"What's that?" He asked and she sat up straighter, ready to impart her expert knowledge to him.

"It's where people who love each other have a party and they get a happily ever after." She explained. Sam pouted.

"I want a happily ever after too!" He moaned, "Dean, tell her I can have one too."

"I don't think you understand how it works." Dean told the pair and Amy shook her head.

"Do too!" She protested, turning back to Sam, "You can marry us too, but only if I get the helicop'er first." Sam nodded eagerly.

"Okay, you can go first." She turned to Dean expectantly and he rolled his eyes, standing up with his back towards her.

"Hop on then." He commanded and she cheered, jumping on the boy's back and he began spinning her around.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean dropped Sam onto the bed with a bounce, falling next to him, everyone laughing even though he was quite dizzy now. Amy climbed onto the bed next to him and leant her head on his shoulder as Dean stretched his back.

"You two are really getting too big for that." He told them and she shook her head.

"You'll just have to get bigger then." She replied matter-of-factly and he laughed.

"I'll try." He promised her. She looked thoughtful for a moment, her brow furrowing comically.

"Dean, is your dad gone for forever too?" She asked quietly. He felt himself go defensive, because _no_ his dad wasn't going to die and how dare she say that... when he remembered she didn't know what it meant. He shook his head.

"No, he'll be back in a few days." Dean replied confidently and she looked down, upset.

"When will my mommy be back?" She asked and he bit his lip, pulling her in for a hug.

"Forever is very, very long time." He told her apologetically, "But until then, you'll have Bobby, and me and Sam." Sam nodded, scooting closer and patting her back like he'd seen grown-up's do on TV.

"Yeah, and our mommy is gone for forever too." Sam told her, "It's okay, though, cause I have Dean."

"So, you'll be okay too." Dean finished, making her look up at him, "Don't forget, you'll marry me and Sam and then you'll be part of our family so you won't be on your own."

Outside the door, Bobby's heart broke all over again as he listened to two little kids comfort the poor girl when he couldn't. He'd not been able to bring himself to tell her that her mom had died, and Sam and Dean were doing a better job than he was. He pushed the door open and found the three in a huddle on the middle of the new bed that had taken him all day to put together.

"Hey, you three." He said, "Food's up, you coming?"

"What we having, Uncle Bobby?" Amy asked.

"Sandwiches, mainly." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Mainly?" Dean asked, seeing the tease more than the other two. Bobby nodded.

"Well, I went to the store this morning and bought a big apple pie, but I don't know if you'll want..." He was interrupted by a big cheer from the three and he chuckled lowly. Amy was already off the bed, a big smile on her face even though she was clinging to Dean's hand tightly.

"Can I have my sammiches cut up into shapes?" She asked Bobby, who nodded as they headed back down stairs.

"I'll try, I can't promise they'll be any good though." He replied.

"I'll help!" Dean exclaimed, always wanting to be the adult in any situation. Bobby nodded.

"All right, Dean. I'll make them, you can carve 'em up."

As Bobby made the baloney sandwiches, and he watched Dean painstakingly carve a castle out of one, handing it to Amy who stared up at him with pure adoration on her face, he briefly thought that they would be okay after all.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean and Sam shared a room, now that Amy had her own. Bobby had dragged the old bed from the other room into the spare room, so at least they didn't have to share that. It was a luxury they'd barely experienced, being on the road so often meant they'd shared beds more than they'd not. Sam, still innocent and young didn't wake when the door creaked open but Dean's eyes snapped open, having been trained to always be aware, even when asleep. The little sniffle calmed him down slightly and he saw the outline of Amy in the doorway, stuffed toy in hand as she cried. He climbed out of bed, walking over and crouching down like Bobby did.

"What's wrong?" He whispered.

"It's dark an' I can't sleep." She sobbed and he smiled kindly, holding his hand out. She clutched it tightly and he lead her back to bed, covering her up.

"Did you have a bad dream?" He asked, "Because they can't hurt you, you know?" He grinned, "I won't let them." She shook her head.

"No, mommy used to let me sing to sleep, but Uncle Bobby won't let me." Dean frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because of a secret." She replied sadly. He smiled, looking towards the door then back at her. He stood up and closed it, after checking the hallway, and then moved back over, climbing onto the bed with her.

"Well, I won't tell him if you won't." He promised quietly and a huge smile broke on her face.

"Really?" He nodded and she nodded, closing her eyes and opening her mouth. A sweet 'ah'-type note came out and he was pleasantly surprised to find she could actually sing. Then, the room flashed with a bright light and he was suddenly alert again. He rolled over, using himself as a shield over her but she didn't seem alarmed as the room flashed white again. She continued to sing, and he was mystified to hear what sounded like a church choir joining in, all singing the same note. He looked around, trying to spot the source of the mystical sound, but he couldn't. Maybe this was a bad idea. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. He turned back to see her fast asleep, a soft, content smile on her face. The door burst open and Bobby appeared with a shotgun.

"What was that, Bobby?" Dean asked, afraid yet calm in equal measures. Bobby lowered his gun and nodded his head for Dean to follow him.

"I don't know, son." He replied, "But no more singing, okay? And don't tell anyone, especially your dad." Dean nodded solemnly, knowing what his dad might do if he found out. Bobby opened the bedroom door and they found Sam still fast asleep, "That boy could sleep through the apocalypse." Bobby commented fondly and Dean nodded, "Right, sleep, okay?" Dean nodded and headed to his own bed.


	2. Chapter 2

16 year old Amelia Miller opened the front door to the slightly run-down house she and her Uncle Bobby lived in, just on the outskirts of Sioux Falls. She fought with her key for a moment, the lock really needed changing, before chucking it onto the table next to the door. She let her school bag slip off her shoulder and it hit the floor with a thud. She listened out, trying to hear her Godfather, but the house seemed eerily silent.

"Uncle Bobby?" She called, leaving her bag where it fell as she headed into the study. One of the many phones that lined the wall started ringing and, with a frown, she headed over to it. She checked through the archway in the wall into the kitchen, but he wasn't there. So, with a sigh, she picked it up and held the old-fashioned handset to her ear.

"Hello," She greeted, a smile on her face as she forced a cheery voice, "this is," She glanced at the piece of paper above the phone, "Agent Adams office, this is his assistant Moyra how can I help today?"

"_Is Agent Adams there?_" The man on the other end of the line asked, a gruff, commanding voice causing her to roll her eyes.

"No, I'm afraid he's with Agent Jenson." She explained, glancing at the wall at another name, "Perhaps I could help today."

"_I'm just following up on two agents who turned up on _my_ case this afternoon._" The man snapped and she mouthed along, mocking the detective. Same old story, different grumpy man.

"Well, if you would like to leave your name and number, I would be happy to pass the message along." She explained cheerfully.

"_No, I'll call you back later._" And he ceremoniously hung up on her.

"How rude." She grumbled, slamming the phone down in a huff. Stupid police, they never had any manners. She headed towards the back door, guessing Bobby was out in the scrapyard.

"Uncle Bobby!" She screamed as she opened the door, knowing she had to be loud if there was any chance of him hearing her. There was someone stood there and she screamed in surprise, reacting first and pulling her fist back to punch them. Her Uncle Bobby had always taught her it was easier to apologise than come back from the dead.

"Woah, woah, woah!" The person exclaimed, catching her fist and she blinked in surprise, relaxing.

"Dean?" She exclaimed, taken aback and he nodded, shooting her a cocky grin and she began to beam, "Dean!" She exclaimed again, this time ecstatic as she chucked her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He chuckled, lifting her off the ground as she squealed in delight, "What are you doing here?" She asked him as he lowered her back onto the ground. He puffed his chest out, looking so proud of himself.

"Dad just dropped me off so I can pick up my own car." He told her, trying to act casual, "We're splitting up for a week, I'm going off on my own." Her mouth dropped in surprise. On one hand she was so excited for him, after all no one knows the need to prove themselves to a parent like a teenager. But, still...

"On your own?" She echoed, "Isn't that, you know, really dangerous?"

"Nah." He dismissed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he walked her into the scrap yard, "You know I know what I'm doing, Amy. I've ganked enough bitches is my time." She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"All right, Grampa." She teased in reply, leaning into him slightly. God, she loved Dean. He was like... not quite a brother, but more than a cousin, it was hard to describe. Both him and Sam were, she always turned into such a child whenever they were there.

"Hey, don't talk back to your elders." He scolded.

"I'll remember that when I see one." She retorted as they approached Bobby's new pride and joy. He'd told her it was a '71 Chevrolet Chevelle, or something. While she knew some thing about cars, like basic maintenance, she wasn't too up to date on naming or branding them. All she knew was the day it had been brought it by a guy looking to scrap it, her Uncle Bobby had taken it under his wing and now it was shining.

"Yo, Bobby, I brought ya sommat." Dean called out and, from behind the open hood, Bobby stuck his head up.

"Knew you'd be getting home soon." He told her gruffly and she skipped over from underneath Dean's arm, looking at the engine.

"I thought you'd just finished on the engine?" She asked and he nodded, motioning for her to step out of the way before shutting the hood with a small thud.

"Just giving it a once over before bozo here," he motioned to Dean, "steals her from me." He pulled the ever present dirty rag out of his back pocket and attempted to wipe his oily hands with it.

"You're letting _Dean_ take the Chevelle?" She asked, incredulous.

"It's not like I had much choice." Bobby grumbled, "It's not like I have any other working cars lying around."

"You know I'll take good car of her." Dean promised, holding his hand out expectantly and Bobby sighed, handing him the keys roughly. Dean grinned, chucking the keys in the air once, "Coming for a spin, Amy?" He asked and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Hell yeah!" She cried.

"Language, Amelia." Bobby scolded and she shrugged, climbing into the passenger seat of the car. Bobby had yet to drive his new car, and Amelia had been waiting to go somewhere in it. He'd done such a beautiful job of it, there was no way anyone could not look at it and say it wasn't gorgeous.

"Sorry Uncle Bobby." She called from the car, "Come on, Dean!" Bobby leant on the window, looking in with a suspicious look on his face.

"You got homework?" He asked and she sighed, annoyed.

"I'll do it when I get back." She moaned just like the teenager she was. Dean climbed into the driver's seat, chucking his duffle into the back seat.

"Yeah, Bobby, she'll do it when she gets back." He told the man, "Come on!" He clapped his hands against the steering wheel in his own excitement.

"Don't hit my car." Bobby commanded and Dean held his hand up in surrender. Bobby looked back at Amelia, who was smiling hopefully at him. She was a happy girl, well, as happy as a teenage girl could be, but he never saw her smile like she did when the Winchester lads were there. Who was he to ruin that?

"Back before curfew, or never again." He warned and she pushed up, placing a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

"Thank you Uncle Bobby!" She cheered. With a smack on the roof of the car, because _he_ could hit his car, Dean sped them off.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean didn't seem to have any plan of where to go, just headed onto the main road and drove away from the town. Amelia's feet were up on the dashboard, something Dean was sure she wouldn't do in Bobby's presence.

"You are _such _a bullshiter!" She exclaimed, laughing and he held one hand to his chest.

"Hand on heart, right though the chest." He promised.

"There is no way you fought a wraith off by yourself, Dean." She protested.

"All right, Sammy may have helped a little." He conceded, "But I knifed the sucker right in the heart."

"Ah, now I know you're bullshitting me." She cried, "As if your dad would let Sam near a wraith." Dean smacked the steering wheel in frustration.

"Dammit, so close!" He groaned as she crossed her arms above her head, leaning on them.

"I just know you too well, Dean." She explained smugly. He smiled and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"How did you know?" He asked, curious and frowned slightly as a sad smile spread across her face.

"You don't tend the brag about the monsters you _actually _fight unless your dad's there." She replied and the pair fell silent. For all his bravado, he actually didn't really like talking about the death he saw day-to-day, and she knew that, "I've known you for so long, you've always been there for me when I've been scared. I like to think I know when you're scared too." She muttered. He didn't reply at first, just pulled up onto a dirt track that headed off into a wooded area. He stopped them in a little clearing and turned the engine off, twisting in his seat. Amelia was blushing pink, obviously embarrassed by her little outburst and his head tilted slightly, a fond smile spreading across his face. Every time he saw her she seemed to have changed somehow. Maybe she was a little taller, maybe she'd cut her hair short, but it always surprised him. She really wasn't a kid anymore, she was growing up.

"Okay, enough chick flick moments." He declared, reaching into the back for his bag. He pulled out an old tape and put it into the tape deck, letting it play. _Don't Fear the Reaper_ started playing and he nodded his head in approval, "That's more like it. Get out, Miller." He climbed out and sat on the hood, looking out into the woods. She pulled herself up next to him and leant on his shoulder.

"What are we doing here?" She asked.

"No where else to go." He replied and they silence fell again. Amelia loved moments like this, just her and Dean, just listening to music or watching television. She liked the fact that she could be normal around him but still not have to hide the darkness that shadowed both their lives, his much more than hers.

"I dreamt about my mom last night." She declared suddenly and strained to look down at her, "Least, I think it was my mom. I don't really remember her too well and I don't have any pictures of her."

"How do you know it was your mom, then?" He asked gently, probing because he knew that was what she wanted.

"She just... she felt she was my mom." She explained, "She was looking over me, calling me princess while I was at school. I think it's some memory sorta being twisted by my head, because I don't think she ever called me princess." She shrugged, "Maybe she did, I don't know."

"You should ask Bobby, he'd know." He suggested and she shook her head as the song changed to a Boston classic, the instrumental _Foreplay_ coming out of the limited speakers of the car.

"Seems disrespectful, somehow." She explained gently, "I don't want him knowing I think about my mom, because he's been so good to me and I don't want him to think I'm not grateful." Dean nodded.

"I can understand that." He agreed, "Do you know this song?" He asked her and she nodded, confused about the change in conversation.

"Yeah, I love Long Time." She replied, "Brilliant song, why?"

"Cause you're going to get off the hood." He told her, pushing her slightly so she stumbled onto her feet, "And you're gonna rock out to it until you feel better."

"I..." She stuttered, "Uncle Bobby says..."

"Bobby ain't here." Dean interrupted, "And you know I won't tell him, I ain't told him yet." She stared, amazed before a look of pure joy.

"Really?" She exclaimed and he nodded, chuckling as she jumped up and down slightly, "Oh my god, oh my god." She cleared her throat as the song changed over to it's second half, "_It's been such a long time! I think I should be goin', yeah. And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'._" She sang, the clearing becoming brighter and brighter by the second as light streamed through the trees, "_Sail on, on a distant highway. I've got to keep on chasin' a dream, I've gotta be on my way. Wish there was something I could say._" Dean started playing his air guitar as she clapped along with the music blaring out.

_Well I'm takin' my time_

The voices filled the air, singing the next line in a chorus. Amelia was beaming, showing just how content she was. She never felt as good as she did when she sang. The light seemed to fill her soul, Dean still couldn't understand why Bobby was so scared of it.

"_I'm just movin' on. You'll forget about me after I've been gone._" She continued.

"_And I take what I find._" Dean joined in with the voices as she spun around from where she had been dancing with herself and jumped back onto the hood, taking his hand in hers.

"_I don't want no more. It's just outside of your front door_." She swayed next to him and he watched her, but she was staring upwards, not at all blinded by the white light illuminating them.

He remembered being so scared when he first saw it, when she sang herself to sleep the night she found out her mom had died. It had been, and still was, overpoweringly bright and daunting. It wasn't natural which, as he had learnt since the moment his own mother had died, meant it was bad.

But he had done what Bobby had told him to at the time, and he'd kept it from his father and they proceeded to grow up as two close families. From that point on she'd always been in his life, and the more he had seen it, the more he realised that it wasn't bad. His gut instinct had developed over the years, and it didn't seem strange or worrisome that disembodied voices sang her to sleep. In fact, as he watched her belt out Boston in her school uniform, it seemed very 'Amelia'. Part of him felt guilty that somewhere inside he knew that if she hadn't been Amelia, if she'd just been some girl, they'd been working her out. She'd be a case and he'd be on the phone telling his father straight away. But she wasn't just some girl, she was _Amelia._ She'd stopped singing in front of Bobby for the most part, and the man had told him just an hour ago that he hadn't seen the light in about a year. It was only him who knew about it now. No one else needed to know.

_~0~0~0~_

18 year old Amelia sat in the middle of her stairs like a 10 year old, hands clasped nervously between her legs as she listened to the arguing going on in the study. The two men shouting at each other were oblivious to her presence, but it was really shaking her up. One thing that made her feel like a child was hearing her Uncle Bobby angry, truly furious and she shifted anxiously. She didn't know what to do, she didn't want to listen but she really didn't want to go upstairs and hide either. Something made her stay within earshot, close to them, as if she was waiting but she felt like crying, like she'd done something wrong.

John Winchester had turned up that afternoon, looking as close to heartbroken as she'd even seen him. She didn't really like him much, having watched the way she treated his two boys all throughout her childhood had made her wary of the man, but she still felt sorry for him when he'd told Bobby that he and Sam had fought, and Sam had run off to Stanford. Her Uncle Bobby had been sympathetic, but the drinking had started not too long afterwards and now they were arguing. Well, John was arguing, Bobby was still rather sober and trying to calm him down.

Her main worry, though, was Dean. He hadn't been at the door, he wasn't in the car and she'd been flipping her phone open and closed for a while now, wondering if she should ring him. If Sam had run from John, he'd run from Dean too and she knew he'd be shattered by his brother's actions. But what if he didn't want to talk? What if he did? Eventually, she pulled her courage together and listened, holding her breath, as the call rang.

"_Amy?_" Dean asked and her heart broke over how devastated he sounded.

"Hey, Podge." She replied, trying to sound cheerful, "You okay?"

"_Did you know?_" He asked in reply, "_I heard you with your friends talking about Stanford._" She sighed.

"I knew he'd applied. I didn't think he'd just... you know, run off." She admitted, "I can't believe it, actually." John swore loudly, the sound echoing down the phone.

"I_s that my dad?_" He asked.

"Yeah, he's pretty hammered." She explained as something smashed, "Why don't you get your ass down here and we'll get hammered too?" She suggested.

"_Why didn't you tell me?_"

"Because he asked me not to." She explained, "Because I didn't think he'd do it so badly. Because I know, deep down, you want him going to college to be a _good_ thing." She sighed, "He has the chance for a normal life, Dean. Barely any of us have that."

"_You do._" He snapped.

"For now." She agreed, "But we both know I'm delaying going to college because we know there's no point. I'm going to get into the life sooner or later, Dean. I know you're angry at the way he's left it, but don't tell me you're not proud of him." Something else smashed and she glanced down worriedly, slightly scared, "It's getting pretty bad in there. What should I do?" She asked.

"_Let him work it out._" Dean replied tiredly, "_He's a mean drunk_."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT, BOBBY!"John's voice hit Dean's ears, "JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE PLAYING HAPPY FAMILIES DOESN'T MEAN YOU UNDERSTAND! YOU'LL NEVER BE HER FATHER!"Her back tensed, a wave of fury washing through her.

"_Wow._" Dean breathed as she stood up, "_He really is drunk._" He seemed surprised.

"I'm going to have to call you back, Dean." She told him.

"_Wait, don't go in there!_" Dean exclaimed, suddenly alarmed, "_Just let him work it out, Amy._"

"I'll call you back." She snapped before flipping the phone closed, ending the call. She stormed down the stairs, almost shaking because he'd gone too far. A courage that she didn't actually know she had in her flared up and Bobby seemed to panic at the sight of her.

"Yo, Winchester!" She snapped and in his drunken haze, John staggered around in a full circle. Had he been alert, not distracted by whiskey or his tattered relationship with his younger son, he would have seen her coming a mile away. However, he was and she smacked with her right fist before he knew what hit him. He yelled in pain, temporarily stunned and she grabbed his arm, bending in behind his back until his knees buckled slightly, "Get the fuck out of my house!" She shouted as she marched him to the front door, reaching in front of him and opening it. He was larger than her, but so hammered it only took one push and he was on the dusty floor outside.

"What the fuck?!" He slurred as she towered over him.

"If I ever hear you talk about my Uncle Bobby like that again, I'll kill you." She swore darkly, "You have _two_ sons, you know? Why the hell are you here when Dean needs you as well?" She reached into his front pocket, groping him slightly as she pulled out his car keys. She pointed them at him, "You stay out here, but you're _not _having these until you remember that."

"You little bitch..." He snapped, trying to scramble up and she nodded, an evil grin spreading across her face.

"Yes, I am." She agreed, "'Night, Winchester." She turned and slammed the door shut behind her. She leant against the door, sighing in anger as she ran her hand through her short, blonde hair. Another shuddering breath and she chucked his keys as hard as she could down the hallway, where they bounced off the refrigerator.

"Princess?" She looked over at her Uncle, who was stood in the doorway to the study, amazed. John was stomping and groaning on the other side of the door, but seemed to be wandering away into the scrap yard. She felt herself tear up and became increasingly frustrated.

"He's wrong." She whispered before she started crying, feeling weak because of it. Bobby quickly pulled her in for a hug, still as uncomfortable as he always was with her being emotional.

"Of course he is." He reassured her gruffly.

"How could he forget about Dean?" She whimpered, "You never do and he has the nerve..."

"Shh." He shushed her gently as her soft cried began turning into sobs, "That's enough of that, all right?" She nodded and he let her go, shooting her his best, reassuring smile, "He could of really hurt you, Princess." He scolded gently and she shook her head.

"Like to see him try." She boasted and he chuckled. She smiled slightly, glad to have, hopefully, cheered him up a bit and after a moment he rolled his eyes.

"Go on then." He declared, "Go ring your boyfriend, tell 'im to get his ass down here." She laughed and bumped into him as she headed towards the stairs where her phone was still laying.

"He's not my boyfriend." She moaned like a teenager.

"Of course not." He replied as if he was humouring her, "Oh, and don't think I didn't hear you swear."

"Sorry Uncle Bobby." She called, ringing Dean back and telling him just was Bobby had told her to say.

_~0~0~0~_

_We'll be getting into the main story next time, just wanted a bit more backstory before I started :)_

_So pleased with the response to this story. Thought people were going to hate it, so I'm glad you seem to like it._

_I apologise for my 'inner-Brit' showing - which by the way, made me laugh so much XD - but I am British, so if you see any Britishisms, do let me know. I still want to write 'arse' instead of 'ass'._

_Also completely understand the Destiel thing, it hard to branch away from OTP's, but I'm grateful you're giving Amelia a go :)_

_You're too sweet, I'm definitely not as good as you say XD I've never seen Rise of the Guardians, and I'm not a massive fan of Frozen so I'm probably not the best person to ask about it, but I'm sure it's fabulous. This story starts from Jump the Shark, which is Season 4 Episode 19 so if you don't want to be spoiled, I'd catch up first. Watching it will be so much better, I promise :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Amelia, now 25 and a full four inches taller than she had been a decade earlier, was back home for the mid-term break in what was her last year of university, taking a long-deserved week away from her responsibilities and in the company of her wonderful godfather. She'd been stowed away in her bedroom for the best part of seven hours on the third day of her vacation and, as the old clock downstairs chimed 4pm, she placed her brush down into the tray and sighed contently, tired but proud of her own handiwork.

She rubbed a hand across her forehead, wiping the sweat away before placing a hand to her hip and taking one step back to look over her masterpiece; a mural depicting all the music of her favourite songs. The sheet music of particularly poignant lines with the lyrics underneath now decorated her walls. Not the most technically challenging thing ever created, but she dared anyone to draw that straight a line freehand. She turned back to look at the rest of the room, smiling at the bed fondly. She remembered when her Godfather Bobby had made a headboard in the shape of a pink castle for it when she'd first moved in. She had refused to get rid of it for years, in fact the only reason it wasn't there is because she was messing around one afternoon and it finally splintered after years of abuse and less than stellar building conditions.

She frowned in thought, tapping the handle of the paintbrush she had in her hand on her lips. Maybe she should paint one onto the wall. It was a bit bare. She looked down at her paints; white as the walls were, black for the music notes and red for giant pair of lips she had drawn on the other wall without a window of a door on it. '_Don't Dream It, Be It_' scrawled underneath it in what she thought was beautiful lettering, if she said so herself. She'd need to get some pink. Home Depot didn't close until late, so Uncle Bobby could take her down to get some. She turned and headed down the stairs quickly, the tip of the toes grazing each one.

"Uncle Bobby, I'm gonna need some more paint!" She called, heading towards the study where she knew he would be. He had his back to the open doorway but her attention was immediately drawn to the two other occupants.

"Dean!" She exclaimed happily as Dean turned to her, a grin appearing as she disregarded Bobby and ran straight over to him. Sam smiled at how happy his brother suddenly was, grabbing hold of the young woman and pulling her in for a hug she returned happily. Very few things could pull that reaction out of his brother these days, and aside from apple and blackberry pie and Chuck Norris marathons, Amelia was it.

"Amelia!" Dean cried with a laugh, "Thought you were at college."

"Oh, that." She brushed off, pulling back, "Look at you, Mr Hunter. You've got all podgy since the last time I saw you." She poked his belly and he knocked her hand away with an annoyed grunt.

"Hey, I'm freakin' gorgeous." He defended. She couldn't stop smiling, her face actually starting to hurt as she turned to Sam. He was still freakishly taller than her and actually lifted her off the floor purely because he knew she hated it.

"I thought you were with your little fan club?" She asked the pair.

"Oh ha ha." Dean snapped, "Like to see how you react to having books written about _your_ life."

"I'm sure that'll be _real_ interesting." She retorted, "Girl goes to university to study English, sounds just as interesting as two homo-erotic brothers hunting demons."

"All right, enough flirtin'." Bobby snapped, "Perhaps we should get back to the matter at hand." Amelia nodded, sitting down on the sofa that lined one wall.

"What we hunting?" She asked, elbows on her knees as she propped up her chin with her hands.

"We're not." Sam replied, and she frowned in confusion, "Someone rang dad's old phone claiming to be his son. Didn't even know he was dead." Her eyebrows shot up and she sat straighter, leaning forward.

"Really?" She exclaimed, obviously not expecting that, "Why's he only ringing now?"

"He's not!" Dean snapped, "He's obviously not his son, we're walking _right_ into a trap."

"Dean." Sam sighed. Dean had been arguing against going to see the supposed 'son' ever since they got the phone call, "He could be in trouble."

"He _is_ trouble." Dean snarled, jabbing his finger towards the door.

"Sam's got a point." Amelia agreed and Dean stared at her, incredulous.

"I'm sorry?" He asked quietly, fuming.

"Look, I'm as shocked as you are." She lied, because it didn't surprise her. Nothing she ever found out about John surprised her, "But it's been two years. Now, if he is your brother – _if_" she reiterated as Dean opened his mouth to protest, "then why's he waited two years to call your dad? They can't have been close if he didn't even know he was dead."

"So?" Dean snapped, sullen.

"So... Why now? If he and his supposed dad don't get along, why ring now?"

"Because he's in trouble, and dad's the only one he knows can help." Sam finished, nodding his thanks to her as he sat on the arm of the sofa. She smiled, tilting her head slightly towards him.

"Exactly. Now, whether he is in trouble or he _is_ the trouble is irrelevant, isn't it?" She pressed, "The fact that there is trouble should have you jumping into your car and speeding to..." She looked up at Sam, "Where?"

"Minnesota." Sam offered.

"Minnesota." She repeated, "But you're here arguing. Now, to me, that sounds like you have more of a problem with the fact that your dad lied to you than the fact it may be a trap." Sam could have laughed at the look on Dean's face, his mouth hanging open in shock and outrage as Amelia hit the nail right on the head. If Sam had even dared to suggest that, Dean would have ripped him a new one regardless of company, but Amelia always brought out a more subdued outburst.

"We're doing this my way." He demanded, looking between the two of them pointedly and Sam nodded eagerly, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Anything you want." He agreed as Amelia seemed to realise something, her eyes opening wide.

"'We'?" She repeated, "As in, _we?_" She motioned between the two Winchester brothers and herself, "As in, you, Sam and me?" She looked at him hopefully but Bobby shook his head.

"You know the rule." He told her firmly and she sighed in frustration. The rule had been a constant source of annoyance for the last six months or so. It had always been there; if she wanted to become a hunter, he wouldn't stop her, but she had to finish college first. She'd readily agreed, in fact it seemed like a good idea, and she'd always wanted to go. She applied to roughly a dozen colleges and universities and ended up doing a English degree roughly three hours away. She'd really enjoyed it for the first two years, and really it had all been going well up until that Christmas, after hearing one too many stories about the angel in a trench coat who'd brought back her best friend from Hell. She had yet to meet him, but as she never went hunting, or was away at college, she never had the opportunity to and it was really starting to piss her off. It had caused quite a few arguments between the normally amicable Godfather and daughter, and it seemed like this was going to be another one.

"Oh, come on!" She moaned, "I'm the same age as Sam, and he can do what he wants!" Sam winced at her bringing him into the fight. He'd hoped she'd leave him out for a least a little while. Dean shot him a smug smirk, obviously pleased after being ganged up on.

"I don't care." Bobby retorted, "You ain't going." She stood up, arms thrown out at either side.

"It's not even a proper hunt!" She argued before realising shouting hadn't gotten her anywhere before, so it wasn't going to work now. She sighed, relaxing her arms, "Look, Dean _and_ Sam are going to be there, so I'm not going to be on my own." She reasoned, "And it's only like, an hour away. And..." She trailed off for a moment, thinking of anything else she could use, "And I'll take my books with me and I promise I'll study whenever I can." She could see her wasn't completely convinced, but she wanted to do this. Her, Sam and Dean on the road. She had thought that this would never be a possibility after Dean had died.

Amelia still wasn't over what had happened to him, still expected to wake up and for him to be gone forever. Dean had actually been good with her about it, considering he was the one who'd gone to Hell in the first place. He never made fun of her when she rang him up in the middle of the night to make sure he was still alive, and he'd text her just to say 'hi' because he knew what it meant to her. It was just like Dean, always thinking about everyone _but_ himself.

She took a step towards him, her thoughts of him being dead again causing her to unconsciously shift nearer, as if her proximity to him would reassure her more that he _was _back from the dead actually than seeing and talking to him. Bobby noticed, he always noticed what she did and suddenly saw through her arguing for what it was. After all, she'd barely been able to spend any time with Dean or Sam since he was brought back from the dead.

"Have you done all your work?" He asked and her face broke out in a large grin, "'Cause if you have anything..."

"No, no I don't." She quickly reassured him, "I swear it." He sighed, not very happy at all.

"It ain't me you have to convince." He told her, basically giving her the blessing she was looking for. With an intake of breath she turned to look at Dean, eyes wide, waiting. She looked like a little kid, never mind the fact she looked younger than Sam ever had and his lip pulled up at one side, a smirk on his face.

"How can I say no to that face?" He told her and she squealed, actually squealed, and jumped up and down on the spot.

"I'll go get my stuff!" She exclaimed before rushing upstairs. Dean chuckled then turned to Bobby.

"I know, I know." He started before Bobby could say anything, "We've got her back, and if it gets out of hand we'll send her straight back." Bobby nodded once.

"Good." He snapped before sighing, "But she's not exactly a kid anymore, is she?" They could hear her stomping upstairs before, very quickly, running back down with a backpack on and a bulging messenger bag flung over her shoulder.

"That was... that was fast." Sam observed with a great deal of amusement and she nodded excitedly.

"I've been ready for this for _years._" She explained, out of breath. She patted the shoulder strap of the backpack, "This bag has four changes of clothes, deodorant, two cell phones, a couple of my credit cards, some make up..." Dean was laughing now, waving a hand to stop her list.

"Okay, Amy." He told her, "Go chuck it in the car." She nodded, dashing out and he looked at Sam, "Who knew we were so desirable?" Sam shrugged.

_~0~0~0~_

Sam opened the door to his and Dean's motel room, letting Amelia in while he held their dad's phone to his ear. She'd checked into her own room, the one next door, because who wanted to share a room with two oversized full-grown men? Well, actually, she thought they wouldn't want to share with her spreading out over every available space, but she wasn't complaining. King-sized beds were a luxury she couldn't normally afford, but seeing as she had to use her fake credit cards to not leave a trail, she decided it was time for a bit of comfort.

"No, no 11's fine." He reassured whoever he was talking to as she skipped over to Dean, university bag over her shoulder. It was bulging with her books but she pulled it onto her lap as she joined him on one of the double beds the room held.

"He talking to your little bro?" She asked him teasingly and he shot her a glare.

"He's not our brother." He snapped in reply as Sam ended the phone call.

"Right, we're meeting him at place called 'Cousin Oliver's' for lunch." He explained, sitting down on the other bed with his laptop, opening it up. Dean pulled a face, having been in a bit of grump the entire way there that hadn't seemed to have cleared up once they'd settled down for the night.

"So, is this when we research all the strange goings-on in the area and see how we can link it to this 'Adam' kid?" She asked.

"No." Dean scoffed, "This is where _Sam_ researches while you get to studying and I..." He crossed his legs at the ankles and very dramatically turned the television with the remote, "catch up on my stories."

"Oh, come _on._" She groaned, "What's the point of me being here if I can't help?"

"Hey, you're the one who promised Bobby." He pointed out, "So, get to it. Chop chop."

"Chop chop." She grumbled, pulling her bag onto the bed, "You know, you used to be more fun."

"I'm not getting my ass kicked because _you_ can't keep your promises." He told her with a grand air of finality, looking over her and watching whatever nonsense he'd put on the screen. Muttering under her breath, Amelia lifted the bag onto her knee and opened the first book she came across. She kept it in the bag just in case they needed to rush off without warning, but with the air of a small child, she reluctantly began reading. She had expected Dean to want to show her what he did when he was off with Sam. Obviously not killing things every moment of the day, but he was normally full of stories about him and Sam on the road, little mini adventures that didn't involve the supernatural in any way. She liked the hear about them, because most of the time they sounded like two brothers on a road trip rather than hunters, and she'd hoped she might get roped into one herself. A story they could share, because they were becoming fewer and farther between these days.

Dean chuckled along with the canned laughter on whatever black and white show he was watching as she turned the page, barely looking at what was written on any of them. She'd seen the words and drawings so many times before, it was mainly diagrams and she knew she could draw them off by heart. Maybe that was the problem, that it was _Dean and Sam_, not Dean, Sam and some chick who'd decided to tag along. Perhaps he hadn't wanted her to come along at all, and she'd just hitched herself onto them anyway.

A sideways glance at Sam showed him staring intently at the screen in front of him, using the mouse pad to click on something. She'd not even asked Sam if it was okay. Maybe he wanted it to just be him and his brother. She had just clung to one word for dear life, like a _child. _

She was just sick and tired of feeling useless, sat hundreds of miles away from home, everyone she considered her family saving the world, fighting the badness and the darkness while she'd been reading Tess of the fricking d'Urbervilles. She loved books, it was the sole reason she took English as her major, but Jesus Christ, she couldn't make it to the end of _that_ piece of trash. How was she supposed to force her way through reading, or studying, or writing ridiculously long essays about subtext or cultural merit while there were people dying out there?

She slammed the book close with an angry sigh, chucking her bag on the floor, much to the surprise of the two men.

"It's all bullshit!" She cried, standing up, "I'm going to get some snacks." She stormed towards the door, snatching Dean's wallet from the side as she left. Dean looked at Sam as the door slammed shut.

"What the hell was _that_?" He asked, confused and Sam shrugged.

"Something she read?" He offered. Dean climbed off the bed, picking up the keys as he followed her, "Amy, wait!" The door shut behind him, leaving Sam there. He walked over, picking up her discarded bag, slightly surprised at the weight of it. It brought back memories of his own time at university, carting everything he had to every class in case he needed it. Jess had always tried to get him to loosen up a bit, he really didn't need his first year books in his fourth, after all. It'd never worked, he had kept everything close. Everything but what had mattered, in the end.

Tearing himself out of depressing thoughts of a past he couldn't change even if he tried, he sat it on the bed, the bag falling over and a book slipping out. He lifted the flap to push it in and frowned at the book's title. He'd seen that book before. He picked it up and flicked through it, seeing symbols and rituals he'd seen so many times over his lifetime. This was one of Bobby's demon books. He looked down at the bag, his brows knitted together then at the book again. There was no way she was studying _this_ at University.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia pushed some of Dean's money into the vending machine, not really caring that it wasn't hers. She didn't even know what she wanted, apart from M&M's she didn't really like candy. She was more a chips kind of girl, but the vending machine was out of them. As was her life, apparently. A press of 'A7' had a packet of mints dropping down with a thud, and a couple more coins later she had a can of Coke to go with them.

She didn't even like mints, why the hell did she even buy them? Probably just to spite Dean, the jackass. She deflated slightly, pocketing the mints in her jeans. That wasn't fair, it wasn't his fault she hated University. She shouldn't take it out on him, she'd pay him back in the morning.

"So, did Harry die and Voldemort win, or summat?" She glanced over her shoulder to see Dean leaning on the corner behind her, his eyebrow raised and she shook her head.

"Harry dies, but so does Voldemort." She corrected with a small smile, "Mint?" She pulled them out and offered him one. He shook his head, pushing off and uncrossing his arms.

"So, if Hogwarts is safe, why the hissy fit?" He pressed and she opened the can, taking a swig with more force than was needed. Dean didn't approve of angry drinking soft drinks rather than booze, but at least it wasn't Diet. He'd caught her when she'd been a teenager drinking Diet Coke, and her answer of 'Because it'll help me lose weight' had him screaming at her for hours. She wasn't going to make _that_ mistake again.

"I just can't stand it there, Dean." She cried, "It's driving me fucking _insane!_ And I know I promised Uncle Bobby, and I hate letting him down but I lost my job last month and I'm running out of money and I don't know what to do anymore!" She took another aggressive chug of her soda, "It's all a fucking sham, Dean!"

"I thought you were enjoying it there." He replied, "You were always such a book nerd." She smiled half-heartedly.

"I am a book nerd." She corrected, "It just all seems so pointless, you know? The pair of you are out saving the world, and I'm sat in front of the computer wondering how to best describe a person as a dick without actually using the word 'dick'." She shot him a look, "It's 'a misinformed, self-indulgent socialite', in case you were wondering."

"That does sound gripping." Dean retorted, walking over and putting his arm around her shoulder, "It can't be all bad, though. What about your room-mates? All them late night pillow fights must be awesome." She rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't actually happen." She told him yet again.

"Hey!" He snapped, "Don't lie to me. I know they happen, every dressed in skimpy outfits, testing out their sexuality." He wiggled his eyebrows even as she nudged him in the side.

"Do I have to tell Uncle Bobby you're perving on me again?" She wanted.

"I'm not perving on you." He defended, "I'm perving on everyone else."

"Oh, so I'm not good enough for you to perv on now?" She teased and the pair started chuckling.

"Alright, alright." He declared as they headed back to the room, "No studying required, when we take you back I'll lie my ass off to Bobby and hope he doesn't notice." She beamed, hugging him tightly around the waist.

"You're the best, Dean." She told him and he nodded.

"Yeah, I am." He replied. He opened the door and Sam looked up from the laptop, giving them both a nod in acknowledgement.

"So, best I can tell, Adam Milligan is real..." He started, turning the laptop around to show them what he'd dug up.

_~0~0~0~_

_I had planned to have this up yesterday, but alas, I was struck down with a migraine, so here we are :)_

_I've been struggling to start the fic properly, everything I wrote seemed so forced, so I decided to just go with forced and get it out of the way XD_

_Notes on reviews, other than there were so many! I'm still so surprised at that, pleasantly so but still :O_

_There's no update schedule at the moment, no. There may be one once I've finished Aftermath, but we'll have to see :)_

_Ah, the singing ;) That'll be the slow-burner of the story, so while we'll see it again pretty soon, why it's there might take a while._

_There'll be more Britishness in this one, I'm sure. I tried my best, so again, let me know and I'll change it. I am British, but British!Dean... Yum ;P_

_Although I've not planned for it, if y'all want to read her as British, you're more than welcome ;_)


	4. Chapter 4

Dean was pissed, and despite the fact that she couldn't remember a time not knowing him, or how to see through his façades when he was hurting more than he'd admit to, Amelia never knew what to do with him when he was this angry. Sam was sat in the passenger seat of the Impala, seemingly ignoring the fuming older Winchester, so as she sat in the back with Adam she took his lead. When they'd gotten to his house and saw the remnants of John scattered through the house, much like he'd been in the boy's teenage years, Dean turned from angry to professional, which worried her all the more. Detaching himself from the situation meant that he was hiding everything inside, and the longer he did, the more violate he'd become.

He and Sam stepped out of Adam's mom's room to discuss something Sam had found, leaving her to stand awkwardly with Adam. She had her hands clasped behind her back as she rocked on her heels. She felt for the boy. Who wanted to have John Winchester as a father, _really_?

"So, are you like, my half sister?" Adam asked her to break the silence. She shook her head hastily.

"Oh, no." She reassured him, "No Winchester blood in me, I'm afraid. I'm just tagging along instead of going to uni."

"You're tagging along being a mechanic?" He asked slowly, sceptically and she shrugged.

"What can I say?" She replied, "I like getting my hands dirty." She walked over to the dresser, looking at the photographs of the mother and son, Adam only a young boy. They looked happy, probably because he hadn't met John yet.

"No offence," Adam started, "You don't look like the type of girl who, you know, plays with engines." She smiled, not at all offended. She got that a lot.

"Yeah, well, my Godfather raised me in a car salvage yard." She explained, "I used to ask what he was doing, and he showed me. Probably could fix a car better than you." She challenged cheekily.

"So, are you their boss?" He asked slowly, because if her Godfather owned the salvage yard, and they were mechanics, they must work for her right? Dean and Sam's voices floated in, talking about a case John had been working around the time Adam would have been conceived. Amelia grinned, pointing at him.

"I like you." She declared loudly, to drown them out and highly amused by the thought of her bossing Sam and Dean about, "Yes, I am their boss." Adam smiled half-heartedly as he sat on his mom's bed, sighing, "Hey, kid." She walked over, "They'll find your mom, okay?"

"They don't really like me, do they?" Adam asked, nodding towards the door.

"Dean idolised hi... your dad." She explained gently, "Sam? Not so much. It's just hard for them to see yet another thing John hid from them."

"Did you know him?" She opened her mouth to reply as Dean and Sam appeared in the doorway. Dean immediately frowned at how close she was to Adam, like she was taking an interest in him and, testily, he held up a black and white photo of a bald man in glasses.

"Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?" Dean asked gruffly and Adam shook his head slowly, looking at the picture, confused.

"Uh, I don't think so. Why?" He replied, his curiosity piqued. Dean looked at Sam, slightly disheartened because it was always easier if there was an obvious link between victims. Sam shot him a look as if to say '_What did you expect?_' and with a sigh Dean turned back to Adam.

"Is he missing too?" Amelia asked and Dean looked at her, hands in the back pockets of her jeans. She'd been a lot happier since he'd relented his teasing of her the night before. They might have to talk about the heeled boots, though. He opened his mouth to explain the deal with Barton when something by her heels caught his eye. In the dark wooden floor, scratch marks trailed underneath the bed. His head tilted to one side and he walked over, crouching slightly as he got closer.

"What is it?" Adam asked as Dean pushed Amelia out of the way.

"Watch out." He told her, kneeling on the floor and flipping the edge of the comforter up onto the bed. He looked under, trying to see where the marks led to but it was too dark. He got up, chucking the pillows aside on the bed as Sam came over to join the three.

"Give me a hand with the mattress." He told Adam, and with his help the chucked the mattress off the bed frame. Underneath was a large, intricately decorated vent and Dean sighed and looked at Sam.

"I don't want to go down there." He protested.

"Well, neither am I." Dean retorted.

"I'll do it." Amelia declared with a sigh. As excited as she was to be included, the idea of getting stuck in a vent wasn't exactly appealing, "I may not be that skinny," which received an angry '_hey!'_ off Dean, "but I'm smaller than the two of you."

"In them boots?" Dean exclaimed in disbelief.

"What's wrong with my boots?" She replied, indignant on their behalf. They were her favourite pair, almost knee height and in a beautiful brown colour she'd yet to see again.

"We'll do this the old-fashioned way." Sam offered as a solution. The other two nodded, agreeing and on the silent count of three both Sam and Amelia slammed their fists down as rock while Dean chose scissors. Sam and Amelia smirked, high five-ing in victory as Dean waved his arms before punching the air, frustrated.

"Every time." He grumbled, pushing the bed frame out of the way. He pulled the vent off the hole and pulling his flash light out. He grimaced at the blood strains splattering the silver metal, another not-so-good sign over the fate of Adam's mother. He glanced up at Sam and Amelia, Sam still smirking as Amelia shot his two thumbs up in encouragement. He scowled at her before slipping into it.

"Why didn't I pick paper?" He muttered to himself.

_~0~0~0~_

Adam was _not_ impressed when they ditched him, telling him to ring the cops but not until he saw them drive away. No mention of the three, just tell them that he'd been walking around his mom's room and had seen the scratches.

He demanded answers, answers that Sam believed he deserved and ones that Dean didn't want to tell him. Sam had told him anyway, overwhelming Adam with the information on monsters and demons and the evil that hid in the shadows. Dean could barely listen, neither could Amelia even though she sort of agreed with Sam. It was just that once you know what's out there, there's no way of leaving that behind. But it was his mother, all of the knew what that felt like.

"Okay, so...basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?" Adam asked, stunned from one of the two beds in Sam and Dean's room. Sam sat across from him, Dean and Amelia at the small dining table by the window.

"_Godzilla'_s just a movie." Dean called over, childishly and annoyed. Every fibre of his being screamed against this. The kid deserved better.

"Dean." Amelia hissed.

"What?" He snapped in reply, missing Sam's bitch-face that was directed at him. His eyes burned in an angry challenge as he stared her down, daring her to confront his attitude but she didn't. She looked down and away, making him feel immediately and annoyingly guilty for it.

"We hunt them. So did Dad." Sam explained to Adam. Adam looked between the three, taking a deep breath before nodding.

"Okay." He said simply, startling them all. Amelia sat up a little straighter, having not been expecting him to be so calm about it.

"'Okay'?" Dean repeated, "That's it?"

"What am I supposed to say?" Adam replied, again too calm.

"That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says 'okay.'" Dean pointed out angrily.

"What Dean means," Amelia spoke up, shooting Dean a look to tell him to calm down, "Is that while some people don't freak out over finding out monsters are real, they rarely just accept it." Adam nodded, as if agreeing with her. Maybe he was feeling slightly disconnected from the situation? Like it wasn't happening to him at all.

"Well, you're my brothers. You're telling me the truth, right?" Adam asked, turning to Sam who nodded.

"Yeah." Sam replied gently and honestly. Adam then glanced over at Amelia.

"And you're their boss, so they obviously trust you." Both Sam and Dean looked at her, eyebrows raised and she shrugged in reply, "Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?"

"We're not sure." Sam admitted while Dean looked less than thrilled by the turn of events, "Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what."

"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill." Dean called over, probably in an attempt to scare Adam away. However, he had slumped over slightly, as if he'd given up trying.

"You think maybe she might still be alive?" Adam asked him. Dean looked away so he turned his gaze to Sam, who also couldn't look him in the eye.

"Usually, when they've taken someone, it's already too late." Amelia broke as gently as she could, "It's always best to assume the worst, because the best rarely happens."

"Oh." He replied, disheartened and devastated, "How can I help?"

"You can't." Dean snapped and Adam almost glared at him, defiant.

"This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in." He almost growled in reply, like a true Winchester.

"No." Dean declared, as if it was the end of the matter.

"Dean..." Amelia sighed and he span in his chair to glare at her. Everyone was pissing him off, apparently.

"No, you don't get a say." He snapped, "He wasn't you dad and he isn't your brother." He turned, missing the hurt that flashed over her face or the way her lips pursed together to stop her arguing back. She wasn't even going to disagree with him, just suggest that he cooled it off a little, "The answer's still no."

"He lost his mother." Sam pointed out in exasperation, "Maybe we _all_ can understand what that feels like." Dean stood up, storming over and waving his dad's journal.

"Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"

"Because-" Sam started.

"_Because_ he was protecting him!" Dean interrupted, cutting his brother off. Why were they all arguing against him? He couldn't understand why anyone would _willingly_ bring anyone into their lives. He'd accepted a long time ago that nothing he could say was going to stop Amelia, but he'd be damned if Adam was going the same way as them as well.

"Dad's dead, Dean." Sam sighed.

"That doesn't matter!" Dean shouted, "He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are gonna respect his wishes."

"Do I get a say in this?" Adam asked, annoyed that they were discussing him like a child.

"No!" Both brothers stated at the same time, Dean frustrated and tired, Sam gentle but firm. Dean chucked the diary down and stormed towards the door, "Babysit the kid." He told Amelia, spitefully not addressing Sam as he grabbed his jacket.

"Hold on, you can't just storm off, Dean!" She cried, panicking slightly. She understood he was angry, but walking out wasn't going to solve anything.

"Watch me!" He slammed the door shut and Amelia sighed, pushing herself out of the chair.

"I'll go after him." She told the other two brothers before leaving the room. She was too late and ran a hand through her blonde hair as the Impala went screeching away. She had hoped that Dean would have waited for her, but he had been so angry at Sam that she supposed it had been wishful thinking. She stood outside, staring at the door back to their motel room.

She didn't particularly want to go back in. There was something about Adam that had put her on edge, something she was sure the two men hadn't noticed. Maybe it was because she didn't really care one way or another that they had another brother, or that John had lied because when hadn't the man treated his boys appallingly? But it was one thing to be detached from a situation because you were in shock, or because there really didn't seem to be another explanation, but to act so logically after being told that your only parent had been kidnapped by monsters didn't sit right with her.

But, with no way of following Dean, and no chance he'd answer his phone if she did call him, she headed back inside to see Sam explaining how to load a gun to Adam and it seemed everything was escalating rather quickly.

_~0~0~0~_

Adam had finally headed to the bathroom, and after a couple of hours watching Sam show him how to dismantle and put guns back together, giving him simple tips on how to spot a demon, or the signs of a ghost, Amelia had to know what was happening in the motel room. The younger man seemed to be drinking it all in, and she had to admit he seemed a bit of a natural when it came to guns, but it all seemed a bit wrong.

"What the hell is up with you?" She hissed at Sam, who barely glanced up from the shotgun he was holding.

"What do you mean?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Since when are you okay with bringing a Pre-Med into our life?" She clarified.

"He's our brother." He offered as an explanation, "He doesn't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice, Sam." She retorted.

"We didn't." He snapped as the door opened and Adam stepped out. Their conversation was halted before Amelia could even ask him what he meant by that comment.

_~0~0~0~_

"So, you're at university too?" Adam asked as the sun was setting outside. The poor guy had needed a break, Sam had been firing information at him at such a shockingly quick pace Amelia would really be surprised if any of it had sunk in.

"Yeah, I'm doing an English major." She told him offhandedly, trying to hide the fact because she hated University more and more each time she thought of it, "Not like you, though, Mr Pre-Med." She nudged him as she sat next to him on one of the double beds, "What sort of doctor are you aiming for? Children's? Foot?" She smirked playfully, "Gyno?" He shook his head.

"No, no." He replied with a chuckle, even if his cheeks were tinted slightly pink at the tease, "I want to be a surgeon."

"Really?" Amelia replied, slightly impressed, "Can see why the idea of gore doesn't repel you." He shrugged.

"Seeing how things work is really intriguing." He explained, "Fixing things, seeing how they tick and removing the bad just... attracts me."

"Right." Sam barked from the other bed, having been sat there, tapping his foot impatiently, "Enough chatting. You need to know how to preform an exorcism." Amelia rolled her eyes and jumped off her bed.

"I'll go get some food for us." She declared, knowing it was pointless to argue about whatever had crawled up his ass and died, "Want anything in particular?"

"No." Sam dismissed sharply and she ignored him, turning to Adam, who shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind some fries." He offered and she smiled, glad he was being nice.

"Fries it is." She agreed, heading outside and reaching for her cell the moment the door closed. She held it to her ear, listening to it ring until Dean grunted his greeting.

"_What?_"

"What the hell is wrong with Sam?" She asked as she stepped onto the side walk, "I mean, one moment he's 'Mr Normal' and the next he's teaching some newbie how to do an exorcism? It's messed up." Dean sighed in frustration.

"_I know._" He agreed reluctantly, because Sam's moods had been increasingly bitchy for the last couple of weeks now, "_I don't know what to tell you._"

"Where are you?" She asked gently because she could tell he was worried about his brother and regretted bringing it up.

"_I've just been to the empty graves._" He explained, "_Seems like whatever took the bodies ate them where they were lying. Off to the bar to see about Barton_."

"Can I come?" She begged as she jogged across the road to the McDonalds sat there, "Please, Dean. Mr Roboto is seriously pissing me off."

"_Just keep an eye on __the kid._" He snapped gruffly before hanging up on her. She looked down at the phone in shock, then angrily stormed into the fast food restaurant and stood in line, thinking of exactly what she was going to shout at him when she saw him again.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia was sat by Sam as they both cleaned a shotgun each when the lights in the room went out. She jumped, clinging to his arm slightly at something rattled through the air conditioning ducts above their heads. They shared a look as they both clocked the way whatever was in their headed and the trio stood up, staring at the bathroom door.

"Stay here." Sam told the pair lowly, loading the shotgun as he headed towards the door. Amelia reached out and grabbed Adam's arm to stop him following Sam. He opened the door and stepped in as Amelia held her breath, the empty shotgun hanging at her side. Sam checked the room, fully alert as he rotated on the spot. Nothing happened for a moment, then there was another rattling noise and he stepped out, aiming his gun at a vent in the ceiling.

"It's in the vents. Go!" He shouted, firing at it once. Amelia dropped her own gun, without the time to load the weapon it was dead weight, and helped Sam usher Adam out of the room as he kept an eye on the vent. Slamming the door behind him, he followed them down the stairs to the car park.

"Where's your car?" Amelia asked Adam, who nodded towards a pick-up truck just up the way from them.

"Over here." He replied, shrugging his jacket on frantically then reached into his pockets for his keys.

"All right, keys." Sam called and Adam quickly chucked the set at him, Sam catching them one handed. Sam fumbled with the keys as Adam and Amelia headed to the passenger side, waiting for him to let them in. Amelia kept glancing at the stairs, waiting for something to run down the stairs after them. She'd been taught well, her Uncle Bobby wanting her to be prepared for anything that might pop up in her life, but she could only fight back if she knew what she was hunting. A lot of things ate dead bodies, and a lot more things ate live people, but she was struggling to find anything in her rich knowledge something that ate both.

Sam yelled in surprise, shooting downwards as something tried to pull him under. Surprised, both Amelia and Adam ran around the truck as he chucked his shotgun away to cling to the bottom of the truck to resist whatever it was that was trying to make him his next meal.

"Sam!" Both of them cried, Adam grabbing one of his arms as Amelia dropped to the floor, trying to see underneath. It was too dark, she couldn't see a thing so she held her hand out for him to grab with his other hand, pulling it with Adam and slowly managed to get some leverage against the supernatural being underneath. Behind them a car pulled up and a quick glance showed Dean rushing out to help.

"The shotgun!" Amelia cried, nodding over to it and Dean barely crouched to pick it up, running right up and aiming under the truck, waiting for the moment when Sam's feet appeared to shoot underneath. As the three fell to the floor he looked under but, like Amelia, couldn't see anything. He and Sam shared a look, surprised, as Adam flopped to the floor next to him, everyone panting at the effort. Adam opened one eye and looked over at Amelia.

"You're really strong." He told her and, over Sam's head, she smacked him on top of his own.

"Idjit." She remarked before flopping against the floor herself.

_~0~0~0~_

_Just going through the episode at the moment, hope I did an okay job XD_

_This isn't her first hunt, but she's only been on a couple and it's first with Sam and Dean. What she would call a 'proper hunt', so she's very excited about being there :)_

_And Cas probably isn't going to be in this for a couple of chapters, but she'll meet him before the next canon episode. There's a snippet of it on my tumblr page, if you want to go read it. I'll reblog it in a second, but it'll be under my 'Amelia' tag so just have a look on the side menu to find it quicker :)_

_Follow me, if you like, and ask questions if you have any. Tumblr name is dannifielding, so feel free to talk to me about whatever!_


	5. Chapter 5

Watching Sam argue for Adam to be used as bait to lure whatever it was out of the dark freaked Amelia out more than it probably should have. There was no way the Sam she had known up until Dean had died would have even thought this was an idea at all, let alone thought it was a good one. She kept her mouth shut, but Dean shared her sentiments and the two had argued back and forth until Adam had declared he wanted to do what Sam was suggesting. He had been adamant about helping, so much so that they couldn't risk him coming back and trying on his own, so the best they could do was train him up so he stood a chance against the monster.

However, it was night and too dark to do anything but read their father's journal and try and teach him even more theory before sun up. Amelia had heard all this before, she'd read the books, and even though this was her first 'official' hunt, it wasn't the first time she'd seen the bad in the world so as the clock struck twelve she stood up and headed for Adam's room for some shut eye.

That had been a huge mistake, apparently. They'd been dying away over the last few months, but being around Sam and Dean had obviously awoken that deep-seated fear she had that Dean was going to be taken away again. Images of Dean stretched out over a void, chains running from open, gushing wounds as he begged for help flooded her subconscious. Black smoke circled him, tearing him apart piece by piece as he screamed. It was the image of his head separated from his body, still conscious with blood dripping from his mouth as he tried to talk, tried to ask whoever it was to stop that had her screaming his name as he choked on his own blood, waking up and shaking underneath the covers.

She was disorientated, but she always was. Waking up in a strangers bed wasn't new to her, after all she'd been at university and the first couple of years had been pretty crazy. Not that any of the men her life actually knew that, but, well, she wasn't a nun. She cupped her hands over her nose and mouth as she tried to regulate her breathing, tried to calm herself down as the dream lingered like it always did. One blink, one close of her eyes and Dean was staring back at her, pleading for her help.

The door flung open and she screamed in surprise and fright as Dean appeared, gun at the ready. Her shout had rung through the house and he'd been out of her seat before Sam and Adam had even registered what had happened. He looked at her as her hands lowered, tears in her eyes as her hair messily framed her face.

"What was it?" He asked urgently as she scrambled out of the bed in just her underwear, her pyjamas at the motel and chucked herself on him, sobbing into his chest out of pure, unadulterated relief that he was there, and he was okay. Stunned, he wrapped his arms around her, doing his best not to dig the gun into her spine as he did.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as he and Adam joined them. His hand immediately shot up and covered Adam's eyes the moment he noticed the state of her undress as Dean stared at him, echoing to utter bewilderment that Sam was sure was on his own face.

"I..." Amelia stuttered, pulling away from Dean and looking distinctly embarrassed. She rubbed her eyes and it became obvious that she was barely awake and had acted on impulse, "I had a bad dream." She muttered childishly. Sam rolled his eyes, taking it on face value like he knew she wanted them to.

"Baby." He shot at her teasingly then turned back to Adam, "Come on, back to work." He grabbed Adam's arm firmly as the kid stared at the almost naked woman in his room and he dragged him away as Amelia smiled up at Dean.

"Give me a moment, I'll come make some coffee." She offered but Dean didn't look convinced.

"What was it about?" He asked her and she shrugged, turning away.

"Don't wanna talk about it." She shot over her shoulder, "Go on, I'll just get dressed."

"Can I watch?" He retorted and she turned around to see him leaning on the doorway, arms crossed and the cheekiest grin on his face. She put one hand on her hip and pointed at him with the other.

"I'm telling Uncle Bobby you said that." She warned playfully and Dean faked a terrified look.

"Okay, okay! I take it back." She smiled at him, so utterly grateful to see him acting like a dork again and he took a step towards her, "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Promise." She replied.

"Do you want to sing?" He asked her quietly, knowing it helped her calm down and she shook her head.

"No, it's fine." She insisted, "Plus, can't anyway. You know." She motioned downwards, meaning Sam and Adam, both of whom had never heard or seen her sing before.

"I'll take you somewhere." He offered and she shook her head.

"No, it's fine." She repeated, "Now stop perving on me and get out." He shrugged.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." He bragged and she rolled her eyes, pushing him out of the room and shutting the door. She then rubbed her eyes with both hands, dragging her fingers down her face as she took a shaky breath in but let a steady one out. What an idiot.

_~0~0~0~_

The next day they had taken Adam to a wooded area where Sam had him practising shooting a gun at a keep out sign. Dean still didn't like the fact Sam was so eager to drag the kid into their life when he'd been the one most against it from the beginning. Something about it didn't sit quite right with him, but he didn't know how to find out what was going on with his younger brother. Any attempt to find out would be met with resistance that Dean didn't know how to fight against. Monsters he could handle, but real human emotions? He didn't stand a chance. He just wished he knew what was making his little brother so different. Anyone who had a chance to be normal should be allowed to be normal. He couldn't understand anyone who chose to live like this.

His gaze turned to Amelia, who was sat on the hood of the Impala with special permission, yawning as she watched the pair shooting. She'd said she was fine, but she hadn't gone back to sleep and he needed to find out what made her scream for him the night before. She'd sounded terrified, he'd genuinely thought something had gotten to her in the upstairs bedroom and he'd fully expected her to be dead when he'd burst through the door. A dream shouldn't have brought out that kind of reaction in anyone, and he'd had enough nightmares in his time to know that it had to have terrified her to have her call for him in such panic.

Something was going on with both of them, he just had to find out what.

When dusk fell and it was too dark to continue on with the gun training, they'd headed back to Adam's house so he could look over some of the old lore books they kept in the Impala in case they needed to look up something they'd never encountered before. Adam had been more fascinated by this part than the physical training, eagerly looking through the books as Sam and Dean recounted times they'd fought the monsters he'd questioned them about. Amelia had actually really enjoyed this too, because she loved hearing about the 'adventures' the two brothers went on, listening to them back and forth insults and corrections like bickering children. This was the Sam and Dean she knew, without the unspoken tension and Apocalypse sitting on their shoulders.

Then Sam decided to quote his dad, telling Adam the one thing that he had hated more than anything; that he could never have a normal life, never love anyone and will only have his family for the rest of his days. It had shocked Dean into action yet again, trying to get Sam to leave the boy alone and had stunned Amelia completely. She remembered how torn Sam had been about going to Stanford, and how much he had always just wanted a normal life. She really was having quite a lot of trouble getting her head around the 'new' Sam, because everything he was spouting was against everything he had fought for himself and others in the past. Dean dying was bound to affect him, it had deeply affected all of them, but had this developed then? And why was she only seeing it now, it wasn't like they were strangers or anything.

"Amy." Dean barked as he stormed out of the hallway and into the kitchen, grabbing his coat and startling her out of her thoughts, "We're going out." She scrambled up, surprised.

"Where?" She asked as she followed him to the front door. He politely held it open for her but slammed it behind him, storming towards his car. She glanced behind her as she followed him, "Sam not coming?"

"No, if he wants to convert the kid, he can do it on his own." He climbed into the driver's seat and she went to open the back door next to him, "Get in the front, you moron." He snapped and she rushed around, climbing in.

"Manners wouldn't go amiss, dweeb." She retorted as he sped off, "Seriously, though, where are we going?"

"The empty tombs." He decided to tell her, "Something's got to be in there that'll help us find the son of a bitch without Adam's help." She nodded slowly and turned to look out of the window. The graveyard was on the other side of town, so she got comfortable. The world was dark now, houses with their indoor lights on flashed by as Dean sped just a little over the speed limit. Houses, where people were settling down for the night. Going to bed. Sleeping. She yawned, leaning her head on the window. Oh, she wanted sleep.

Dean glanced out of the side of his vision, catching her yawn and snuggle down into the chair, gazelessly watching the outside world go by.

"So, you wanna talk about the dream yet?" He asked her and she shook her head.

"Nope." She replied, popping the 'p'.

"Oh, come on." He moaned, "Sam and Adam aren't here now. I know that's why you didn't want to say before." She sighed.

"No, actually, it's you I don't want to tell." She replied reluctantly, "Please stop asking." He frowned, actually rather hurt because she told him everything. She trusted him with her singing, but not a dream? What was up with that? Decisively, he pulled to the side of the road, confusing her as he parked up and turned in his seat, chucking his arm over the back of the passenger's seat.

"Okay, you're telling me." He told her firmly, pointing downwards, "Right now."

"No I'm not." She replied, surprised by his demanding tone.

"_Yes_, you are."

"_No_, I'm not." She argued back, pursing her lips in annoyance.

"And why not?" He challenged.

"Because I know what you're like." She snapped, her anger at him pushing her causing her to talk without thinking, "Because you build stuff in your head and you find ways to create and carry guilt you don't need or deserve." She sighed as he stared at her. He'd obviously not been expecting that, "It doesn't matter, Dean. They've been going away, it's only come back because I've come with you and I'm sure that they'll die down again..." She wasn't looking at him, trying to ramble her way out of the situation but he grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"Amy." He said firmly, "What was it?" She stared at him, weighing up if she should tell him, but her big mouth meant now he'd never leave it alone. She pulled out of his grasp and turned to look forward, clasping her hands between her knees nervously.

"Sometimes I dream about you in Hell." She admitted quietly, shocking him again, "Last night I saw you being ripped limb from limb. They're not always the same, but they're all gruesome and they terrify me beyond belief." She looked down, looking ashamed, "There's one I always see, with you being strung up with chains running through your body and you're begging for help. There's blood and stuff, but it's the worse one because I can't help you. And though all the other scenes are random, it's the one I always see."

"How?" He asked lowly, because he remembered that. He remembered every moment of his time in Hell. Despite his attempts to drink the memories away, he was never going to forget and he _remembered _that. She shrugged, but he wasn't sure if it was an admission of ignorance or another attempt to not share with the class.

"I think my mind makes them up." She offered quietly before looking up at him, "Why do you think I ring you in the middle of the night? I need to know you're okay." Dean sat back in his chair, letting out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he stared at her in shock.

"I just thought you were drunk." He told her, "That's what college kids do, right?" She nodded and finally looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed at the look on his face, eyes dull and face sullen. Anyone who knew Dean knew that look and she jabbed him in the chest hard, startling the look off his face.

"No." She snapped, "No, you don't get to feel guilty about this, Dean. This is _my_ problem, I'll get over it." She swiped both hands in front of her in an '_end of'_ gesture.

"Get over it?" He repeated angrily and she nodded.

"Yes!" She retorted, "I'm not the one who went, I'm not the one who..." She trailed off, slumping into the seat, "Aren't we supposed to be grave hunting?" The look on her face, the utter defeated look told him she was not going to discuss it further. So, without another word, he turned the engine back on and headed to the tombs.

_~0~0~0~_

The night couldn't have gotten any worse. After climbing through a dirt tunnel in the side of one of the desecrated graves into another tomb, Dean managed to step in the remains of Barton, who'd been devoured and left on the floor to rot. The room had large wooden doors that took up one wall and coffins were set into enclaves in the wall.

"Sloppy Joe." Dean remarked as he picked up the dead man's glasses.

"Dean!" Amelia scolded and he chucked them on the corpse, standing up with a disgusted look on his face that matched her own. He shined his flash light on her, causing her to wince as it hit her eyes.

"You okay?" He asked, meaning the corpse and she rolled her eyes.

"Bobby Singer raised me." She pointed out, annoyed, "Idjit." She stormed over to one of the coffins and with a slight amount of effort pushed the lid off. She gagged at the smell that floated up from the body of a blonde woman, "Oh god, it's his mom." She told him, shining her torch on it. Above them a creaking noise began to sound, echoing through the room and both of them immediately pulled their guns out, Dean aiming at the tunnel they had crawled through. They both stood, alert, waiting for the creature to emerge, only for the dirt from the tunnel collapsing to fall to the exit.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean cursed, lowering his gun and pulling out his cell to call Sam. He was immediately greeted with no signal, but where was the surprise there? He glanced at Amelia, who just shook her head as she pocketed her own phone, telling him she had the same problem, "Son of a bitch!" He paced backwards and forwards for a moment, trying to think of how to get out. He headed straight for the doors, trying to bash them down as Amelia circled the room, heading towards another coffin. She pushed the lid open and shone her light in, gasping then gagging at the rancid smell.

"Dean!" She shouted and he looked back at her, "It's Adam!" He slowly headed over and shone his own light on the corpse, or what was left of him. Waist down was completely decimated, his internal organs hanging out in plain view. Amelia shone her light on Dean's stomach, "Who's with Sam?" She asked worriedly. Dean, obviously thinking the same thing, turned and shone his torch around the room, looking for some way to get out to his little brother. Amelia followed suit.

"Maybe if we both try the door." She suggested, heading over to it and running her hands over it. There were no handles on it, but then again the dead rarely needed to leave their tombs so why would there be? Dean joined her, trying to find a way for them to get out before rubbing his hand over his face in panic. Whatever it was had the upper hand on him, he had no idea Adam wasn't Adam and he'd left him alone with it. He looked up and saw a stained glass window depicting a cherub and an idea immediately popped into his head.

"Help me with these." He commanded, heading over to Kate's coffin. With a little grunting, the pair piled the coffins up underneath the window and Dean pried one of the metal handles off the side. He climbed on top of the pile and looked away, "Stand back." Amelia did what he said and he broke the glass, showering it down on top of him. He inspected the hole, broke some more of the glass off then turned to Amelia. She wasn't a short-ass, but he was going to have trouble getting out and she _was_ smaller than him. He couldn't come back for her later, he couldn't risk whatever it was coming back for her.

"Right." He hopped down, nudged the top coffin over so he had a step and then crouched, "Get on." She frowned then shook her head.

"What? No!" She exclaimed indignantly, "I'll crush you." He rolled his eyes.

"We don't have time for that bullshit right now, Amy." He snapped, "_Get on!_" She sighed then did as he asked, climbing on his shoulders. He slowly straightened and passed her the metal bar, "Pull yourself up then hand it back." She nodded and he climbed up the stack of coffins, swaying slightly as the extra weight. She smiled wistfully, memories from the shared moments in their childhood flashing into her mind.

"We've not done this since we were kids." She pointed out, "Actually, now I think about it, when's the last time you gave me a helicopter?"

"When you stopped being a five year old." He retorted, smiling despite himself at the memory of spinning the tiny girl in his arms. She had been so small as a kid, then one day he'd come to visit and she was almost as tall as Bobby, "You ready?" She nodded and did as he asked, flailing slightly in mid air as she attempted to get through the hole. He reached up and pushed as hard as he could against her left foot, taking care to miss the heel on the boot, and she was up. She handed him the bar, and soon they were running towards the Impala.

_~0~0~0~_

Sam groaned as the blood poured from his wrists into the bowls underneath, his strength slowly fading with the loss of blood. He cursed himself mentally as the two ghouls circled him, playing with him like cats with mice. How did he not see this coming?

"Hey!" Dean's voice rang through the room, followed by a sound of a shot gun. Amelia rushed to his side while the two ghouls were distracted and tried to undo the ropes around his wrists.

"Dean, they're ghouls!" He exclaimed and Dean paused, aimed over Amelia's shoulder and shot 'Kate' in the head, blowing it up and showering them all in blood.

"Which means head shots." He muttered, moving over to help Amelia. Then, from behind him 'Adam' grabbed his shoulders and chucked both of them through the glass doors dividing the rooms. Amelia quickly finished the knots off and Sam shot up, groaning in pain. She shrugged her jacket off and handed it to him as Dean went flying across the room.

"Dean!" Sam shouted in alarm. He needed to get the bindings off his ankles, he may not be much good but Dean was in trouble.

_Aah- Aah-_

Sam winced away as the room filled with white light for a moment, his eyes quickly adjusting to see a barrier between his brother and the ghoul. Dean, instead of looking bewildered at the brightness, was staring at Amelia in shock. Sam turned his head, for the first time hearing the singing and saw Amelia, the beautiful note coming out of her mouth as she pointed past him at Dean. Adam chucked himself at the barrier and Sam quickly reacted.

"Dean, his head!" He commanded and Dean jumped back into reaction, cocking the gun and Amelia stopped as the gun shot rang out and 'Adam' was no more. The moment it became clear they were out of immediate danger they both turned to Amelia, who was panting.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked her and she rolled her eyes, snatching the jacket out of his hand and pushing it firmly against one of his forearms.

"Dean, he's gonna bleed out if you don't sort this." She replied, avoiding the question completely. Dean and Sam shared a look, but she was right and Dean headed out for their first aid box.

_~0~0~0~_

_Nothing to say, nothing to add! Hope you enjoyed it :)_


	6. Chapter 6

They'd given Adam a 'hunter's funeral' at the request of Dean, who hadn't given any reason for it and didn't insist on the same for his mother. Perhaps he'd finally accepted the poor lad who hadn't stood a chance was a Winchester, or maybe he was feeling guilty about not being able to save him. It was hard to work out which. Then they'd headed to the motel as the sun was rising, deciding to rest up that day and head back to Bobby's the next to drop Amelia back off so she could head back to University in time for her term re-starting. Something she really, _really_ didn't want to do.

She left them alone to have a shower before they tried to source some food, and the moment the door swung shut Sam turned to Dean, looking alarmed.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" He asked his older brother, who chucked his jacket on the chair by the table and headed towards his bed.

"What was what?" He asked, pulling off sounding vaguely confused as he sat down and liberated his feet from his boots. No one could appreciate how much of a relief it was to not have your feet constrained by leather.

"What was what?" Sam exclaimed in disbelief, "Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the singing and the bright light that saved your ass, Dean?" Dean shrugged, like it was no big deal which just infuriated Sam more.

"What about it, Sam?" He replied and Sam just stared.

"What was that?" He ranted, trying to get Dean as worried about it as he was, "I mean, there's something incredibly unnatural about a girl summoning a large, protective light when she sings! And it sang back, I know it did. What do we do?" Dean's eyes narrowed at the implications of what Sam was saying and he stood up.

"Are you suggesting we gank her?" He shouted angrily, pointing at the wall, "Because that's Amelia you're talking about."

"I know." Sam replied but Dean shook her head.

"I don't think you do." He interrupted, "Even if she wasn't Amelia, the girl we _grew up with._" Sam opened his mouth to protest but Dean cut him off with a glare, "Even if she wasn't her, you gonna explain that to Bobby?!"

"If Bobby knew..."

"Bobby knows." Dean snapped.

"Bobby knows?" Sam asked before his eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open slightly, "Wait, _you _know?"

"Yes!" Dean shouted before wincing at the sound of his own voice, "Yes, I know." He repeated, quieter this time, "And it's fine, Sam. So just drop it."

"Just drop it? Dean..." Dean stormed over.

"Yes, Sam. _Just_. _Drop_. _It_." He warned, "It's been dealt with, that's all you need to know. Don't mention it again, and don't you dare ask her about it."

"What?" Sam's hands clenched together, "I'm just supposed to ignore it?"

"Yes, you are!" Dean told him, "If she wants to tell you, then that's fine, but until she does you leave her alone. Do you understand me?" Sam nodded, glaring openingly at him.

"Perfectly." He snapped, "I understand that, once again, I'm being kept out of the loop." Dean chucked his hands to his sides.

"Oh, here we go again!" He exclaimed.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia opened the door, slinking into the room and immediately felt the tension between the two brothers. Dean was reclining in front of the television but was obviously not watching it, while Sam was at the table on his laptop, clicking furiously if that was possible.

"What happened?" She asked, startling the pair who hadn't notice her enter. Sam then looked over at his brother with his best bitch face.

"Nothing, apparently." He snapped, going back to his computer like a sour-faced teenager. She stared at him for a few more moments, before turning to Dean, who was purposefully not looking at her.

"Okay, one of you is going to tell me." She commanded, hands on her hips, "You're grown men, act like it!"

"I would." Sam replied haughtily, Dean moving his mouth mockingly along with him, "However, I'm not _allowed_ to talk about it." She sighed, turning to Dean.

"What did you do?" She asked him and he looked offended.

"What makes you think I did anything?" She raised an eyebrow expectantly, waiting for the moment he exhaled, like he was being severely inconvenienced, "He was going to kill you!" She spun on her heels to stare at Sam, her mouth slightly opened.

"I wasn't." He snapped at Dean before looking at her, "I wasn't, I swear." He tried to reassure her, "I just thought we should find out what happened at the house. I wasn't aware that _everyone_ knew but me." Again, this was joined with a pointed look to Dean.

"What?" She asked, still confused, "You mean my angels?" The stunned look on his face confused her even more, "Didn't Dean explain that to you when I was in the shower? That's why I went..." She turned to Dean, "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Because you told me to never tell anyone!" Dean defended and she pointed at Sam.

"_He was there!_" She exclaimed before sighing, rubbing her face and turning to Sam, "When I sing, angels come. They always have done." She shrugged, "The light is a fraction of their true form, they only appear in that light when they're not fully there. Otherwise your eyes would have burnt out, and as I was trying to _save_ Dean, it seemed counter productive to have them fully there."

"So you can just summon angels now?" Sam scoffed, "No offence, but most of the angels we've met are dicks."

"Yes, they are." She agreed, "Quite a few angels are dicks, you get used to it. Some aren't, though. My angels aren't, otherwise why would they come at the command of a pitiful human?" She sat down in the chair in front of Sam, "I understand you being wary, Sam, I do. And I'm sorry I never told you about them sooner, but they're not new, I've had them since I was first able to talk. Nothing's changed except your perception of me. Have I ever done anything other than save your brother that had given you any reason to not trust me?"

"I never said that we should kill you." Sam reiterated, "I just asked what we should do. Dean's the one who decided that I was going to gank you." She turned her head to look at Dean, eyebrow raised and he tried so hard not to look guilty, or at her. She continued to wait for an explanation until he chucked his arms in the air.

"What did you expect me to think?" He ranted, "All we do is gank stuff."

"Nice to know you have faith in me, Dean." Sam snapped sarcastically, and like that the tension left the room as the two brothers began arguing again. She stood up, ruffling Sam's hair, which he ducked his hair to get away from and she fell onto the bed next to Dean, leaning against the headboard as she told the both to shut the hell up so she could watch television.

_~0~0~0~_

_The blood swirled around her head, running in all directions as even her instincts failed her, keeping her frozen on the floor. Dean pressed against his wrists, his hands wrapped around them as he stared down at her, looking just as terrified as she felt. The muscles on the left hand side of his face were on view, the scraps of skin left behind imitating his every movement. His eyeball rotated in his skull as his blood dripped onto her skin, trailing down her face with her tears..._

"Amy." His voice pleaded, the image falling away to the darkness behind her eyelids. She trembled, but didn't open them in case she saw his face again, "It's okay, it's not real."

"Dean..." she whimpered and she flinched as something touched her head.

"Go to sleep, Princess." He told her gently and, as if on command, she drifted back off again.

Dean glanced over at his brother apprehensively, only to find him still asleep and relaxed slightly. Amelia had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of the DVD of Die Hard 2, which was a travesty in itself, but he'd not had the heart to wake her up. Not that he cared, and it wasn't like he could sleep now it was daytime. He just turned over to daytime television and kept a close eye over the two sleeping next to him. Sam was out like a light, he'd not even murmured when Amy had whimpered to herself. Nothing else showed her distress, but the fact she looked less than peaceful had him gently shaking her awake.

She'd begged him to stop, slurring her words but whatever she was dreaming was definitely about him. When she'd drifted off to sleep again, she still showed no signs of the horrors she had seen in her head. He went back to his stories, his resolve to watch over them as they rested strengthening even more.

Real life wasn't like the movies, or books. Her nightmares didn't disappear just because the man she saw being tortured was safe next to her, or had reassured her that so was she. They kept coming, they'd never stopped. Her only hope was to replace them with something even more terrifying, Dean knew that from bitter experience, but it didn't stop him trying.

_~0~0~0~_

"Yes, Uncle Bobby, it's fine." Amelia said into the phone as she chucked her back into the trunk of the Impala. Her book bag sat by her feet as she turned, leaning on the small amount of body she could get to with the trunk door open, "Dean said he wanted to see where I was living."

"_That boy just wants to gawk at all your classmates._" Bobby pointed out and Amelia nodded to herself.

"Oh, I know." She replied, "Can't wait until the rip him to shreds. He still doesn't understand that he's just man-meat to them."

"_Are you going to stop off and pick up your stuff?_" He asked as Sam appeared with his own bag. She shot him a smile, motioning to the phone call with a shift of her eyes.

"Nah, there's not much there I actually need immediately." She explained, "I'll get a lift back with Claire in a couple of weeks. She's got a weekend off and we're gonna spend it back at home."

"All right." He replied with a sigh, and she knew he was disappointed that she wasn't heading back home before heading back to university, "Be safe."

"I will." She promised, "It's almost summer vacation, I'm not missing that." He chuckled and her smile grew, "Love you, Uncle Bobby."

"You too, Princess." He replied before they said there goodbyes and hung up. She looked at the screen, quickly making sure the call had ended before putting her phone back in the pocket. She had a thing, well, it wasn't much of a thing, but she always had to tell her Uncle Bobby that she loved him at the end of phone calls, or when she was heading anywhere without him. She guessed it stemmed from not telling her mother it when she was left with Bobby before she died, but it wasn't much of a hassle, and if he'd drank enough he'd be able to say it back, which was always nice to hear.

"Can't believe you're letting Dean near your friends." Sam told her, chucking his backpack in. She shrugged.

"He'll be fine." She brushed off, "Won't know what's hit him." She reached down to pick her book bag up, but Sam got there first, lifting it with an ease she couldn't have done. He placed it gently into the trunk, shutting the lid with a gentle thud.

"Interesting reading." He commented lightly and she blinked at him in surprise, her heart spreading up slightly.

"I... I suppose so." She replied slowly, testing the waters.

"I didn't know demonology was a requirement for Literature." He added and she shrugged, turning and trying to brush it away.

"Thought they might be useful." She explained, "I'll go find Dean." She told him. Dean had headed to check them all out, he shouldn't have been far away.

"Amelia?" He called after her and she paused, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" She asked, slightly impatient.

"When did you drop out?" She turned back around quickly, ready to argue her case before realising she really didn't want to argue. She deflated in defeat and took the few steps she'd taken to stand next to him, leaning on the Impala.

"January." She stated, "I went back after Christmas in an absolutely foul mood. These girls had started going missing on campus over the break, some turning up with no necks, some not turning up at all."

"Vampires?" Sam guessed and she nodded in confirmation.

"Just one, trying to build his own nest. Took me a few days to find his base, but I took him down and the girls he'd converted." Sam's eyebrows shot up slightly as he leant back, surprised.

"On your own?" He asked and she nodded.

"It wasn't nice." She defended, "These poor girls hadn't done anything wrong, but they were killing other girls and I had to stop them. No one likes to kill anything. But for the first time in... Oh, I don't know how long, I felt useless. Next day I dropped out. I got a job, but the company went under and I'm running out of money."

"Does Dean know?" He asked and she shook her head, "Does _Bobby?"_

"I don't know how to tell them both." She whispered, "They both put so much stock in me being the 'normal' one. The one who got out." She looked up at Sam, "I don't want to get out, Sam. I want to make a difference, no matter how dangerous or destroying it is." She scuffed her toe on the ground, looking like a child and Sam had a flashback to when they were kids and would play together. Sometimes she'd stop, and look guilty, and he'd ask why. She'd tell him she felt bad because she forgot her mum and was happy, but he would tell her that Dean said that was okay, because he did the same. He'd told her Dean said that you might think you forget, but you don't deep, deep inside. She'd asked how deep was that and he said he didn't know.

The next time one of them had cut themselves, they'd tried to look. Amelia had screamed the scrapyard down and Bobby had been perplexed when they'd told him they'd been looking for her mom.

"It's up to you." Sam told her, "You can't let what they think sway you. But Bobby's gonna notice when you don't graduate."

"I'll get to that." She declared as she spotted Dean heading towards them, "Don't tell Dean." He nodded.

"Off the damn car." Dean scolded the pair, smacking each of them upside the head, "Let's hit to road." Amelia climbed in the back of the car, watching Sam trying to get in with his gigantor legs was always a laugh. Dean started the Impala up before rubbing his hands in glee, "College chicks, here we come!" This time Amelia smacked him, causing him to yell in protest.

"Stop being such a perv." She scolded playfully, "Seriously, Dean. They're my friends, you're not sleeping with them."

_~0~0~0~_

Dean had headed out in search of supplies, leaving her and Sam in her house in Aberdeen, waiting for him to come back. She lived with four other women who were all students and were either already out for the evening or were upstairs getting ready. Dean had been very specific in his plans for the evening and they weren't to head out to the bars until at least 11, although when Amelia had asked why he'd explained that she'd told him to stop being pervy.

So, while Dean searched for these mysterious 'supplies', she and Sam stayed in and pottered around the house. A couple of her house mates had come gawking, but she'd been expecting that when they'd finally been allowed to visit where she lived. A quick glare had sent them on their way and now she was watching Simpsons reruns, because who didn't like Simpsons?

"Sam?" She called, "Get me a drink, will ya?" She waited for him to answer, be it with an affirmative or with an insult but none came. She contemplated getting up instead and fetching her own drink, but that seemed more trouble than it was worth.

"Sam?" She shouted this time, but no answer. She sighed in defeat, he must have been in the bathroom upstairs. She stood up with a stretch and reluctantly headed towards the kitchen, chucking the refrigerator door open. On her shelf sat her last can of Coke. Did she drink it? Yeah. She took it and slammed the door shut, turning around and popping the tab open with one finger.

In the doorway stood a man with short hair, brown almost to the point of black, wearing a trench coat over a suit. A silver blade was in his hand, held ready to attack her at a moments notice. His features were set hard, her stance one of attack but she didn't notice. She was stunned into dropping her drink, the fizzy drink spurting on the floor around them, by the man's eyes. She'd never seen such a stunning, radiant blue before and it actually took her breath away.

"Castiel." She breathed.

"Who are you?" He demanded, his voice deep, not exactly what she had been expecting but it also seemed to fit him perfectly. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times as she couldn't tear her gaze away from his eyes.

"Your grace." She whispered, a slight shake of her head, "Wow." In an instant she was slammed against the refrigerator, the knife against her throat and she cried out in pain, her spine aching.

"Who are you?" He asked again, slowly this time and she tried to lean back and get away from the blade cutting her slightly.

"My name's Amelia. I'm Bobby Singer's God daughter." She blabbered out, "Sam!" She screamed, hoping she sounded terrified enough.

"I don't think so." He told her with a slight tilt of his head, "You seem human, but I didn't know you were here. You're being hidden from angels. Why?"

"It's not by choice." She promised, "Sam! Get your ass down here, _now_!"

"What did he do now?" Dean asked, beer in hand, "Woah! Cas, dude, let her go!" He rushed over, putting a hand on the angel's arm to try and move him away. Under any other circumstance Dean wouldn't have been able to shift him and he knew it, but Castiel's plan changed and suddenly they were both gone. Amelia gulped in the air she hadn't been able to get just a moment ago, sliding down to the floor as Sam rushed in, half-shaved.

"What the hell?" He asked as she panted.

"I just met Castiel." She told him, rubbing her neck and seeing a small streak of blood where she'd been cut, "I don't think he likes me." Sam walked over and helped her up, giving her neck a quick check but the cut was purely superficial.

"He doesn't like anyone." He reassured her, "Although, he didn't try and decapitate me. Where is he now?"

"Dunno. He zapped Dean somewhere. No warning or anything, I don't think Dean'll be happy."

_~0~0~0~_

Dean was not happy. One moment he had been whistling as he entered Amelia's student house, beer in one hand along with the promise of drunk college chicks hanging over the night, putting him in an extremely happy mood. Of course, then he'd found Cas ready to kill her and it'd really put a damper on his night.

Now, instead of being a house walking distance from Student bars, he was in a middle of a field with an angel who had a stick up his ass.

"Dude, seriously!" Dean snapped, "Take me back, now."

"Who is she?" Castiel demanded in return, more than a little riled by the fact a normal human woman had been completely hidden from not only him, but he suspected his superiors as well. No human had that kind of power without supernatural help.

"Who, Amy?" Dean asked, confused, "She's Bobby's God daughter. Don't tell me you angels can't tell who had Godparents and who doesn't?"

"She is hidden from angels. That is impossible without intervention." Cas insisted angrily, "She needs to be disposed of." Suddenly Dean went on the defensive, the threat against his friend causing him to round on Cas.

"Excuse me?" Dean snapped, "That's my friend you're talking about."

"Then you need to choose your friends more wisely." Castiel retorted, "She must be involved with demons. There is no other explanation and therefore she is a threat to the mission."

"She's not working with demons!" Dean insisted, "Trust me." Castiel's eyes narrowed, looking at him with that confused look Dean had seen on his face from the moment they'd met.

"Trust you?" Castiel repeated and Dean joined him in his anger.

"It's not demons, you asshat!" He shouted, "It's angels! So get down off your high horse and take me back so I can make sure you've not actually done anything stupid."

"Angels?" Castiel scoffed, not making any move to take them back, "I would know if it was angels, Dean."

"You didn't even know she existed." Dean pointed out, "So you're not as well-informed as you think you are."

"Why would angels hide her from other angels?" He asked pointedly, because it was a ridiculous notion. Dean growled in frustration, torn between storming off and attempting to throttle Cas.

"Look, I'm not supposed to say." He snapped, "And I really don't want to tell _you_ if you're just gonna go back and rip her head off her shoulders. But if you're going to be such a douche-bag about it..." He sighed, "She sees them when she sings, all right?"

"She sees _angels_ when she _sings?_" Castiel asked and Dean nodded.

"It's just this... thing." Dean explained, trying to downplay it, "They really like it when she sings, they're probably keeping her off your... angel radar." He suggested. Cas paused, looking slightly to his right in thought, but Dean thought he always looked like he had forgotten the stove was on so he actually was never sure if he was being thoughtful, or just looking slightly constipated.

"Dean!" He turned and suddenly he was back in the kitchen, both Amelia and Sam staring at him in surprise. Sam had an arm around her, obviously comforting her as Castiel strode towards her with purpose. She shrunk towards Sam apprehensively and he pulled her against him, ready to try and get her out of the way should Cas try and hurt her again.

"Dean tells me you see angels when you sing." Cas stated and she nodded meekly, drawn back up to his glowing eyes, "Show me." He demanded.

"I... I can't." She stuttered out, and he held his blade tightly in his hand once again, "Not here, it'll cause a mess. People will notice." He nodded, grabbing her roughly around the arm and taking them to the field he had just transported Dean to. She looked around, slightly startled.

""Where are we?" She asked him. It was dark, must have been the middle of the night, but South Dakota it was only around 8pm and barely dusk.

"Scotland." He barked shortly, "Show me." She nodded, taking a deep breath.

"_I don't know when, I don't know how._" She started, a white flash of light illuminating the area. It was the sign of an angel's true form, but being one himself he could sense that there was more than one there. The ground rumbled under foot, but Amelia didn't seem to be too worried, "_But I know something's starting right n-ow…_" Cas blinked, falling into a stunned silence as an angelic harmony filled the air, accompanying her as if it was backing music, "_Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be, part of your world-_" She held the note exquisitely, the heavenly voices complimenting her until she stopped, when the world around the two fell abruptly silent and dark once more. Cas stared at her and she looked at him expectantly, but he didn't say a word, "Castiel?" She prompted. He looked her over again, but nothing seemed to have changed about the human in front of him. No black eyes, no twisted face. She was just an ordinary human with questioning grey eyes.

It was incredible, a deep calmness resonated from the centre of his being, filling him completely with a sense of hope and a deep understanding he'd only felt a few times before in his vast lifespan. The inner peace that came from the singing that had surrounded them most likely made humans feel a similar sense of blessing, but for any angel it was like a gift from their Father himself.

He'd heard of this, whispers of stories throughout his garrison. Most of the time the stories that were told were to keep them in line, stories of warning about what had happened to other angels who had not obeyed. Stories of angels who had thought for themselves, like Gadreel and Abner. However, one of the nicer ones, almost mythical in nature, was of the human charge with the music of Heaven running through her veins. A mere human who could make angels weep with simultaneous joy and sorrow, the power of temptation on her lips.

She could command the Choir.


	7. Chapter 7

Castiel's enraptured stare bore into Amelia, the shocked look worrying her slightly as he failed to move. She glanced around behind him, looking around for someone who might be able to help, wondering if it was possible to actually break an angel. Did she have to, like, reboot him or something?

"Cas?" She tried his nickname when he didn't respond to his full title. She stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm and his gaze shot to it. There it was, the same feeling of utter contentment flowing into him from her touch. He met her gaze and she smiled encouragingly at him, making him realise she was waiting for a reply.

"You can summon the Choir." He stated quietly and she nodded.

"I know." She replied, "They come when I sing."

"Every time?" He pressed, sounding urgent, and she shook her head.

"Only when I let them." She explained, wary of how distressed he look at this news. He was the first angel who had looked at her like it was a bad thing, "Took me a few years to work that out, but it made karaokeing a lot easier." That had been a blessing in disguise, especially in recent years. Who knew university would be filled with so much karaokeing?

"When did this start to happen?" He asked, making her feel like he was interrogating her. She hoped he wasn't. One thing she had learnt over the years was how obedient angels were, and if hers wanted her protected from the rest, she doubted they wanted anyone else knowing what she could do.

"I don't know." She admitted with a shrug, "They've always come when I called. My mum didn't mind it, but when she died Uncle Bobby told me to stop singing in case I got hurt."

"Back already?" Dean muttered sarcastically and Amelia realised Castiel had brought them back to the kitchen. She hadn't even felt them move, or noticed the change in brightness. Sam and Dean hadn't moved, both been more concerned to see if the strange trench-coated angel would bring their friend back.

"She can control Heaven's Choir." Castiel declared to the two men, assuming neither of them knew the specifics of the situation at hand.

"Heaven's Choir?" Dean repeated and Castiel looked puzzled over the fact Dean was repeating him, "And that is?"

"It's a special garrison within the armies of Heaven." He explained, "At the birth of angels, some were taken by our Father and assigned to sing over all of His creation. When He created the Earth, their command was turned over to the Choir Master." Sam frowned.

"Choir Master? Do you mean Amelia?" Sam asked. The two Winchesters turned to look at her, but she seemed just as baffled they were, "What does that mean, exactly?"

"The Choir is filled with the most powerful of the angels our Father created. It is said that when banded together, they are more powerful than the archangels. Although, I've never seen this in action before. Since the birth of Man, they've refused to fight without their Master." He turned to Amelia, who was looking overwhelmed by the new influx of information, "You must come to Heaven with me." He declared and she shook her head, the confused look replaced by one of complete affront.

"Hang on, I'm not going to Heaven." She exclaimed.

"My superiors need to be informed of your existence."

"The same 'superiors' that wiped my friends memories and made them believe they were not brothers?" She shot back and he tilted his slightly in a nod, "Or the ones that were going to blow up an entire town to see if Dean could make a decision?"

"They were necessary..."

"That is never necessary!" She shouted, interrupting him, "Look, you seem nice, you really do." She told him, "I mean, your grace?" She waved at him, lost for words about the bright light shining from his eyes, "Wow. But I'm not going with you, Trench Coat."

"My name is not Trench Coat." He pointed out and she rolled her eyes, slightly amused despite herself by his childishness.

"I know, Cas." She reassured him, "All I was saying was that I'm not going to Heaven again."

"You will be returned to Earth once you've helped stop the seals from being broken." She shook her head.

"Not a chance." She argued back, "I'm more than happy to fight from down here, but I'm not going to Heaven."

"It would be completely painless." Castiel promised her, becoming slightly agitated by her defiant attitude.

"Wait a minute." Dean spoke up, having been more than happy to let Amelia fight this one out. He knew she could hold her ground just fine, but that sounded distinctly suspicious, "Are you seriously saying you're going to kill her?"

"How else would she get to Heaven?" Castiel asked in response, the confused look on his face saying everything it needed to. Dean strode forward, pushing himself in between the two as a barrier.

"Not gonna happen." He growled and Amelia put her hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.

"Dean, he's not going to kill me." She reassured gently, "I'm not going to Heaven."

"Damn straight you're not!" He exclaimed.

"I mean, being resurrected really hurts." She continued, "I mean, it really fucking hurts. I only do it when I really need to, and quite frankly your superiors are the all-powerful beings, they can come to me."

"When you really need to?" Sam asked, sharing a look of disbelief with Dean. She nodded.

"Well, yeah. I'm not a glutton for punishment, you know?" They both continued to stare at her, "What? I have _angels_ that come when I sing. You really think it never occurred to me to try and find out what was going on?"

"No." Dean stated firmly, "You are not telling me you've killed yourself just to see if you can talk to an angel." She sighed, looking away guiltily.

"No, of course not." She admitted, "I summoned one first. This angel, Cameel, came and told me I could transverse the realities, move from Heaven to Earth and back again if I killed myself. I don't do it often, but, well," She shrugged, "I like Joshua. He's kind and quite witty once you get to know him."

"You've talked to Joshua?" Castiel asked, sounding slightly surprised. Not everyone was granted time with the angel who spoke to their Father. She nodded, not seeing it as that big of a deal.

"He takes me to his garden a lot." She replied, "Sometimes it looks like mine, sometimes it's his." She waved her arms, "It doesn't matter. Let's get back to business. You came here for a reason, right?" Castiel looked down, slightly ashamed because he'd forgotten his mission.

"Another seal was broken." He divulged, "There aren't many left. We suspect one is going to happen in three days in a town called Ashland, Missouri. It is said that a nurse who lives there will kill one of her patients." Dean looked between the two. Why were they all brushing over the fact that Amelia had _killed herself?_

"A nurse?" Sam asked, gaining his own incredulous look from his brother, "Doesn't seem particularly 'demonic'."

"She will then eat the patient." Castiel corrected, "'_A woman of healing will betray the trust and taste the blood of the virgin girl._'"

"Now _that_ sounds pretty demonic." Amelia pointed out.

"We need you to find the nurse and stop her before she can consume any flesh." Castiel told them.

"And kill the girl." Sam reminded and Castiel nodded, looking distinctly uninterested.

"If you can." He added, turning to Amelia, "It would be best if you kept your talents under wraps for now. If a demon were to manage to capture you..."

"They won't." Dean snapped, "Are you staying to help, or..." He trailed off, staring into the empty space where Castiel was once stood, "Son of a bitch."

"What a curious little fellow." Amelia mused before shrugging, "Well, better go pack again. Good thing all my clothes are here, Lord knows how you've lived without a stable washing machine." She tried to walk past Dean, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the kitchen.

"Not a chance." He snapped, "We're going to have a little chat." He dragged her towards the back door as she protested loudly, chucking her into the back yard. The security light came on, bathing them in a yellow glow.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her arm, "That really freakin' hurt!"

"Did it?" He snapped in reply, "As much as, I dunno, _dying?!_" She sighed angrily.

"It's not that big of a deal, Dean." She argued back, even though she knew that the worse thing you could do with Dean when he was angry was try and trivialise it. Still, it really _wasn't_ that big of a deal.

"Seriously?" He asked loudly, amazed and infuriated by her, "_That's_ what you're going to say!" He growled, chucking his arms out, "Jesus Christ, Amy! Killing yourself? Really? Are you honestly _that_ stupid?"

"At least I knew I was going somewhere good and coming back!" She shouted back. His eyes narrowed, a dangerous sign on him but she just glared back, "Yes, I mean you _selling your soul!_ Don't you get all high and mighty with me, Winchester. I'm not the only one who's used death for their own means. Get over yourself." She tried to walk past but he grabbed her arm again.

"Never again." He snarled in warning and she rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, recent events have shown me I don't want to be in Heaven right now. " She retorted, yanking her arm back and storming back into the house, past a slightly amused Sam and up the stairs to her bedroom.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia was placing a t-shirt into her backpack, her boots in the corner where she'd decided to leave them for the time being, when there was a knock on the door. Dean probably wasn't going to be talking to her for a while, so she guessed it was Sam.

"Come in!" She called, zipping it up as Sam peeked his head into the room, "I won't be a second, I've just got to grab some shoes." She'd decided to wear some sneakers this time, maybe that was passify Dean slightly.

"Dean's decided we're not leaving until tomorrow." He told her, "We're going out in 10." She frowned, brows furrowing in confusion.

"I thought he'd want to get it over with." She said and he nodded, stepping into the room, realising it was okay for him to do so. He should have known it was already, really, but his manners were impeccable for a boy raised by John Winchester.

"He did, until he realised it meant leaving the drunk college girls behind." He explained and she sighed, chucking the bag on the floor.

"Well, the ass can go on his own." She declared as she flopped down on the bed like a child, "He acted like a total dick, _you_ didn't get all angry over something that wasn't that big of a deal."

"Actually, I'm not exactly happy about it." Sam admitted, "I just know that arguing with you about it isn't the way to go." She pushed herself up onto her elbows, looking at him, puzzled.

"I know the idea of me killing myself isn't the best." She replied, "But I was resurrected, I always am. It's not the same as me, you know, _actually_ trying to commit suicide."

"But you didn't know that, did you?" He pointed out, "The first time, all you had was some... angel telling you he would, but you couldn't have known. We lose enough people, Amelia."

"That's why I didn't tell you." She replied, "I didn't think you'd understand. I have total faith in my angels, they won't let me die unless it's time." She shrugged, "I only do it once a year, anyway. It's a bitch to recover from." She looked him over again, concerned. He hadn't been right since they'd met up at Bobby's. His attitude with Adam had proved that, but he looked tired all of the time now. Even just stood there in the doorway, he looked almost ill, "Are you sure you should be going out?" He shrugged.

"I told Dean I wanted to stay in and research this 'Choir' business, but he said he wasn't going out on his own." She rolled her eyes, typical angry Dean. If he was pissed, he made sure everyone else around him was too.

"I'll go." She decided, standing up again, "You do some reading, get some rest."

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking relieved but sounding guilty. A smile spread on her face, for such a gigantic man, he was adorable when he tried.

"Yes, I'm sure. Tell Dean I'll be five minutes." His whole body relaxed at the idea of being allowed to stay in, which both worried her because she had no idea what was wrong with him, and endeared him even more to her because it showed that even though he felt awful, he'd still go out with his brother to cheer him up.

"Thanks." He told her gratefully and she shrugged. He turned to leave, pausing with his hand on the door as she turned to find something to wear, "Hey, Amelia?" She looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"How many times have you done it?" He asked and she thought back over all the times she'd gone to see Joshua. She loved that angel, he was amazing. The rest she could take or leave, but he was kind, and had so many stories. If Bobby was her surrogate father, he was her granddad.

"Last Christmas would have been 16." She replied, "I came back every time." Sam nodded to himself slowly, turning to leave again as his head did some quick mathematics.

"Hold on." He spun back around, "Are you telling me an _angel_ asked a 10 year old to kill herself?"

"Angels are dicks." She replied simply.

"You're not kidding." He muttered with a harsh laugh, leaving her to get changed.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean was surrounded by at least five young, pretty girls who were all laughing exaggeratedly at whatever he was saying, while he sat in the middle looking like he was having the time of his life. Amelia looked to her side, where there was an empty seat, and wished again that Sam had joined them. She hadn't expected Dean to have dumped her so quickly, but it had happened and she was left drinking a bottle of university finest at a table on her own.

She swilled the bottle before taking a swig, her mind still on their little argument. She understood why he was angry, each time she'd drank the chemical concoction that original angel had told her to make, she knew that if it had been anyone else she'd be furious as well. But he'd just jumped straight to shouting at her, not letting her give any reasoning behind it. At least Sam had heard her out, being calm in expressing his own feelings over the entire affair, but let her explain her side as well. She stared down at the bottle, she supposed it was just one of the many differences between the two brothers.

She looked up and caught Dean's eye, smiling as he beamed from ear to ear and shot her two thumbs up. She'd purposefully brought him to this bar, Ladies Night was notorious all over campus and he seemed to have forgiven her just for that. She glanced down at her wrist, wondering if it had been the hour she'd decided on staying for, just long enough to show her support, when she remembered she'd left her watch back at the house. She sighed in annoyance at herself and turned to look at the wall mounted one, jumping in surprise as she saw the tall, stoic figure of Castiel stood just behind her.

"Jesus, Cas!" She exclaimed, her heart pumping erratically as she held her hand to her chest, "Give a girl a bit of warning, yeah?"

"Apologies." He replied, actually looking slightly apologetic which was an improvement, "Why are you in this bar and not in Ashland?"

"Because Sam and Dean deserve a break." She replied, slightly defensive. He had said 3 days, after all, "There's plenty of time." She dismissed, turning back just to see a black haired woman fall into his lap, both of them laughing as if it had been an accident. She pulled a face, "Oh, I don't need to say _that_!" She cried.

"They should be focused on the seals." Castiel corrected factually and she glanced up at him, about to berate him but didn't. He was watching Dean closely, not at all judgemental. It was if he was trying to memorise what he was doing. She turned to see what he was looking at, grimacing again as he began to make out with the girl in his lap.

"Oh, gross." She grimaced before glancing up at Castiel, "Pull up a chair, then."

"Pull up a chair?" He repeated and she chuckled, grabbing the back of the chair next to her and pulling it closer, patting the seat.

"Sit down, Trench Coat." She teased lightly and he did as he was told, eyes still trained on Dean, "He's quite fascinating, isn't he?" She asked.

"Why does he feel no remorse when not following instructions?" Castiel mused out loud. She shrugged.

"That's free will for you, you can choose when to feel guilty or not." She suggested, lifting the bottle to her mouth again and taking another drink. She paused as she moved to put it down, her manners hitting her and she waved it at him, "Want a drink?" She offered.

"Angels don't need to drink." Was his automatic reply and she put the bottle on the table.

"I only need to drink water, but here I am." She pointed out, sliding the beer to him, "Try it." His gaze met her, the bright blueness of his grace startling her again as she tried not to show it, instead portraying a look of gentle expectation. He reached over and picked it up, lifting it to his lips and taking a sip. Even as the bottle made it's way back to the table, his face contorted into disgust.

"That is foul." He declared and she laughed, taking it back.

"Oh, I know." She replied smugly, "Welcome to the human race. Everything is sold to us as perfect, but ultimately it all tastes of crap." She took a sip, "So, what did your 'superiors' say about me? Were they nice?" He looked away, at his knees and she sat up straighter, worried, "You can tell me if they were mean, I'm a big girl. Literally." She shot him a smirk.

"They were busy, I couldn't tell them." He replied guiltily and she didn't like the way his face looked ashamed, or the way his eyes dimmed. She knew an angel's grace was like their soul, and his was reacting to his emotional state.

"Couldn't?" She asked gently, because there was more to that sentence than he was letting on. Apparently he was a terrible liar.

"I need to speak to Dean first." He explained, not offering anything else to her. She reached over and placed a hand on his, which had been resting on his knee.

"Well, if I can help, let me know." She told him, "I know a little bit more than Dean about angels, perhaps I can be more useful." Castiel studied her for a moment, sensing her offer of help was genuine. Dean had never mentioned her before, but he had defended her vehemently when Castiel had suggested she was demon. He was only like that for his family, so reason stood that they were quite close. He looked out over the bar at Dean, eyes narrowed in thought. He had stopped kissing the other female, but it was hard to tell they were two separate humans.

"Why did you accompany Dean here?" Castiel asked her, "Does seeing him trying to mate with other females not evoke jealousy?" She stared at him, shocked for a moment before laughing.

"Oh Lord, no." She replied, "I love the dweeb, don't get me wrong, but it's not like that." She smiled softly, "I'd trust him with my life." She realised how that sounded, and not wanting a chick flick moment she smirked, "But not my sex life." That seemed to just confuse him, but his confused face was downright adorable so she didn't feel too guilty, "Whatever is wrong, though, you should follow your instincts."

"I don't have instincts." He told her, "I need to talk to Dean." She shook her head.

"Dean won't tell you what to do, Cas." She broke to him, "Not when it matters. He's a big believer of people choosing their own destinies."

"Why?" He asked desperately, because that's all he wanted. Orders, someone to make it okay for him to follow his commanders again, because it didn't feel that way anymore. Something was wrong in Heaven, and he didn't know where to turn anymore.

"Because he couldn't." She explained sadly, "His life was decided by his bastard of a father. You'll have to decide for yourself.

"But how do I know I'm making the right choice?" She shrugged.

"You don't until after it's all over." She explained.

"That seems grossly careless." He decided and she laughed at his bluntness, nodding.

"That's free will for you, Castiel." She agreed, "Careless, but worth it." She settled back in her chair, "_It's four in the morning, I__'__m lyin' in bed. A tape of my failures __p__layin' inside my head. It's heartaches and hard knocks __a__nd things I don't know. I listen and I wonder, __'__Where will it go?__'_" She sang to herself, smiling as his gaze shot to her face, the same look appearing that had been there in the field. His eyes brightened again and she tilted her head in surprise.

"What is that?" He asked, "I know all hymns written down, that isn't one of them." She shook her head.

"It's not. It's just a song." She replied, standing up, "I think I'm going to give up before Dean decides to screw her in front of me." She looked down at Castiel, who hadn't moved, "Want me to get Dean for you?" He shook his head.

"No, I'll come back tomorrow." She shrugged, grabbed her jacket and turned to leave, "Thank you." She shot him a beaming smile.

"No problem, Trench Coat."

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry it's been a while, but this chapter really was a pain in the backside! I mean, seriously wouldn't go the way I want it to go._

_We'll get more about Cameel as the story goes on, so I'm not just glossing over the fact she killed herself regularly, I promise XD_


	8. Chapter 8

Amelia groaned as she rolled over, away from the shouting voice of Dean, who was shaking her awake. She'd been too energised to go straight to sleep once she'd got back to her house, instead finding herself spending a lot of the night thinking of that strange little angel in a trench coat who'd tried to slit her throat. He'd been so intrigued by the man who wasn't allowing her to catch up on what she'd missed, like Dean held all the answers he was looking for. Normally she'd be on Dean's side, but at that particular moment, he was the biggest idiot on the planet.

"We have another day and a half, let me sleep." She moaned, pulling the cover over her head. She smiled as it went silent and she snuggled down, glad for another hour. The cover was ripped off from on top of her, Dean discarding it by his feet and she shot up, pulling the large t-shirt down as she glared at him.

"Dean!" She screamed, "Give me that back!"

"We're leaving in ten minutes. If you don't get up, we're leaving you behind." He replied, a smug smirk on his face, making her hands clench in anger. He turned and sauntered out as she glared at him.

"Dweeb!" She shouted after him.

"Dweeb with the car!" His voice replied and she rolled her eyes, stepping off the bed and searching for something to wear in her closet. It was a lot emptier than it had been when she first came to university, when she'd dropped out she'd sold a load on the internet to make some money to live off. She shot her favourite boots a longing look, they were worth a lot, did she have to sell them as well?

She shook her head determinedly. No, even if she was homeless she'd keep hold of them boots. She'd be dirty and hungry, but her feet would look fucking fantastic.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean, despite still being angry with her, took the hold-all off her as soon as she reached the trunk of the Impala and chucked it in without a word. She smiled and headed to the back doors, but was grabbed by the arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"When we're done, we're heading to Bobby's." He told her, "And you're telling him everything." She frowned, brows furrowed for a moment before gasping as she realised what he meant.

"What?" She exclaimed, "No way! I'm not telling him, he'll go ape shit!"

"Really?" He asked sarcastically and she glared at him, "You've been doing some really screwed up shit, Amelia." She winced at the use of her full name, "He deserves to know how careless you've been. Now get in the damn car!" He stormed off, opening the driver's side door.

"I just wanted to see my angels, Dean!" She protested.

"They're not _'your'_ angels!" He shouted back, Sam coming out of the house and rolling his eyes at the two arguing in the middle of the street outside Amelia's house, "This just proves everything to do with the junkless dicks ends in disaster! Now get in the damn car!" He climbed into the Impala, slamming the door hard and she wrung her hands in the air, turning to head around the car when she spotted Sam.

"He's being unreasonable!" She exclaimed, pointing at the car in case he didn't know who she was talking about.

"When you first did it," Sam started, "why didn't you tell Bobby?" She looked reluctant to tell him, rolling her eyes like she'd done since she was a teenager.

"Because he wouldn't approve." She replied, "Because it seems like the worse idea in the world when you say it out loud." He shot her one of his superior looks he got when he knew he was right,

"Maybe," He replied, "maybe you don't." He climbed in after his brother and she sighed in frustration, knowing they were right on most accounts but not all, because she was always going to be okay. They weren't listening to her, and she _hated_ that! She chucked her book bag on the seat before she slumped into the back in a huff, barely having time to shut the door before Dean sped off.

"You better be studying back there." He snapped, "Or I'll tell Bobby that as well."

"But you promised!" She cried and he looked at her in the rear-view mirror.

"I don't care." He replied harshly, "Get reading, now!" She growled, barely resisting the urge to kick the back of his chair before reaching into her bag, pulling out a book with a plain black book and opening it, grumbling to herself as she did.

_~0~0~0~_

"I'm sorry, the family room is all we've got left." The guy at reception explained to Sam, who glanced behind him at Dean and Amelia. The ride had been practically silent the entire way here, uncomfortably tense, with Dean barking at Amelia whenever she appeared to be not reading, and Amelia grumbling to herself over 'big headed, podgy dickheads'.

"Are you sure?" He asked, almost begging for him to find another room, "How about a store room I can hide in?" The man behind the desk looked over at the two, who weren't even facing in the same direction, so much was their childishness and shook his head sympathetically.

"Sorry, no can do." He replied, handing Sam the keys, "I'll get a cot sent up, though. You can always drag it outside if they get too much." Sam shot him a grateful smile, nodding.

"I might just do that." He agreed, steeling himself before heading over to the pair. They both turned at the same time, purposefully not looking at the other and he had the overwhelming urge to send them to their rooms until they calmed down. Then he remembered they had to share a room, and he had to share with them as well. This was _not_ going to be fun, "So, they only have one room."

"Oh, that's just _great_." Dean snapped.

"I'm not sharing with _him!_" Amelia cried at the same time. Dean turned to look at her, livid.

"Hey, you'd be _lucky _to share with me!" He retorted and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, nothing better than listening to you snoring while I'm trying to sleep." She snapped and Sam held his hands up, stepping in between the two before they could continue to argue. The silence was better, he decided.

"Well, there's nothing else we can do." He told them both, "So just stay on the other side of the room from each other, right?" Amelia pulled her bag up on her shoulder.

"Fine by me." She replied and Dean rolled his eyes, turning and storming out of the reception. Amelia watched him go with a glower, before a pleased smirk appeared on her face.

"What's that for?" Sam asked.

"He doesn't know which room we're in." She pointed out, snatching the key out of his hand before he could stop her, "36. Lovely." She headed out and he ran his hand through his hair, seriously contemplating sleeping in the Impala.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean's eyes flickered open when his body seemed to realise how cold he was. He pushed himself up slightly, frowning at the motel window, which they never left open but was letting the air outside bite through the room. Sam was still sleeping on the bed next to him, the one nearest the window. His gaze always went to his brother first, making sure he was okay and safe, allowing him to relax slightly. He then took a quick glance at the cot under the window, but Amelia had gone, just like he'd expected.

That evening had been full of tense silences and spiteful snapping. Dean couldn't help it, he never could. He was just so angry and the way he let it out was to bring everyone down with him. No one could be happy if he wasn't, he didn't know how to express himself any other way.

And it wasn't that he was truly mad at her. Her faith in those angels had always been so solid, he'd always thought that one day they'd tell her to jump, and she'd ask 'how high?'. He just hadn't expected it to have already happened, for them to convince her it was a good idea.

He walked over to the window, peering out into the small amount of woodland behind the motel. She was the one on Earth, though, so she was getting the brunt of it. He was, on some level, rather proud of her because she was giving as good as she got. She wasn't letting him belittle her without a fight, but when she'd come back with the food he'd sent her for she'd had a salad and a Diet Coke, which she always ate when she was feeling terrible about herself. He hated the fact he'd been the one to do that to her.

He pushed himself out with ease, landing on the floor and heading straight ahead. And sure enough, she was sat in the middle of a clump of trees, looking upwards and trying to see the sky through the leaves. She looked up as he sat down next to her, feeling slightly old as it seemed a little harder to get down than before.

"Please, Dean." She started tiredly, "Don't. I can't handle you shouting right now."

"I'm not going to shout." He replied, "You shouldn't be out here on your own, though."

"Couldn't sleep." She replied simply. He nodded, that feeling not being entirely foreign to him.

"Why did you do it?" He asked, desperate to understand, "Why did you ever think it was a good idea?" She sighed, running her hand through her hair and fluffing it out at the bottom.

"I was 10." She explained, "Cameel told me I could go to Heaven. My..." She shook her head, "One of the first things we talked about was my Mum. He told me she was in Heaven, so when he suggested it, I thought..."

"You thought you'd see her again." Dean finished when she couldn't and she nodded.

"It's not like it mattered, anyway." She replied, "When I got up there, I felt like I was betraying Uncle Bobby by looking for her. Still haven't seen her." He didn't really know what to say to that, so they sat in silence for a few moments as she just stared at the sky, "You know, your angel is downright adorable."

"My angel?" Dean repeated, confused, "You mean Cas?" She nodded.

"He came to see you last night at the club, but he didn't want to interrupt you snogging that half-dressed woman in your lap." He grinned.

"Oh, you're just jealous it wasn't you." He retorted, puffing his chest out at the memory. Danielle had been hot. So had Rebecca, who he was sure Amelia didn't know about.

"Shut up you dweeb." She said with a playful smile, "He really wanted your advice, though. I think he's confused about Heaven and the whole 'angels are being dicks' thing."

"I can't make his mind up for him." Dean replied quickly, before she suggested it because he wouldn't make anyone's choice for them.

"That's what I said." She explained, "But he really is trying. And he finds you really fascinating. You should give him a chance." Dean rolled his eyes.

"You're only saying that because you think he's hot." Amelia looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"What?" She asked.

"I saw you making..." He motioned with his hand, "gooey eyes at him in your house. You do realise that's just some dude he's riding, don't you?"

"I'd not noticed, actually." She replied honestly, because she hadn't really paid much attention to his vessel. She smiled softly to herself, "But you should see his grace, Dean. I've not seen anything like it. He hasn't even attempted to guard himself, it's just all there."

"I didn't know you could see their graces." Dean replied, not commenting on the fact she'd just described Cas in the way he saw him. The strange little man who said the first thing that came to his mind and understood nothing, but didn't try to hide that fact.

"Oh, yeah. They're all a little different, but it pretty much comes from their eyes." She explained, "Joshua has this imposing look, he scared me at first but now he's just lovely to me. Cameel had a dark light," She frowned slightly, "I still don't really like that one. But Cas? He shines so bright." She wrapped her arms around her knees, "It's a wonder no one else can see it." He rolled her eyes, she was such a sap at heart, it was sickening. He stood up, holding his hand out for her like a gentleman. She grinned and took it, letting him help her up.

"Enough sulking." He told her, "We've got to go to the hospital tomorrow and gank us a demon bitch." She nodded and they headed back towards the motel.

"You know what a baby I am." She retorted, "I need my Winchester on my side before I can get some sleep." He let her climb in first, pushing herself in the window. Dean watched her, nodding to himself, a slightly impressed look on his face. Like he'd never be able to not appreciate the rear of any woman. Amelia caught him when she turned to watch him re-enter the room and put her hand on her hip, cocking an eyebrow.

"Do I really have to tell Uncle Bobby you're perving on me, _again?_" She asked.

"Admit it." He replied, climbing in after her, "You keep saying that _because_ you want me to perv on you." He smirked his little self-serving smile, "You want me." He gloated. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, that's it." She replied sarcastically, "You're just so damn irresistible. However have I gone this long without it?"

"If you two are going to have sex, _please_ be quieter about it." Sam groaned from his bed, "Some of us are trying to sleep." Dean and Amelia shared a look, both with their lips pressed together as they tried to not laugh.

"Sorry, Sam." Amelia replied, heading to her little cot, "'Night, Dean." She climbed under the blanket as Dean headed to his own double bed, smacking Sam on the leg as he walked past. Sam batted out at his brother, pissed they'd woken him up from the first proper sleep he'd had in a while.

As Dean settled down he looked over at the two younger people, his brother and the girl who'd pretty much become his sister and smiled softly to himself. Yeah, despite the impending apocalypse, his life was pretty god damn sweet at the moment.

_~0~0~0~_

The bed dipped next to him, stirring him from his dream of the blonde and brunette. The covers ruffled as whatever sat down climbed in but he didn't open his eyes. He just rubbed his hand on her arm, listening to her sniffing slightly. Not crying, but on the verge.

"I'm back now, Amy." He whispered, "It's okay."

"I know." She whispered back but didn't move. He rolled over, giving her some more space as they both fell back to sleep.

Sam was the first to wake, he always was but lately it had become worse. He found them in the same bed, Dean facing away and Amelia curled up towards him, huddling into herself. They never did fight for long, but he was glad it was over. It showed he had hope for forgiveness off his brother.

He hoped beyond anything that the nurse at the hospital wasn't _actually_ a demon. They'd have to kill her, she'd bleed and he didn't know what he'd do when he saw that delicious liquid again.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean, Sam and Amelia walked down the hospital corridor in a row, the woman wedged between the two men. They were both looking incredibly handsome in their black suits, while she wore a black skirt suit and heels. She had to force the giddy grin that wanted to spread on her face. She was being a Fed today. Not just the secretary, the _actual_ agent. Dean glanced around, taking stock as he looked for an empty room to make a base in.

They'd been allowed to roam the hospital on the flimsy excuse of a hospital-hunting killer that had been spotted heading into this area. Not exactly true, but each of the nurses that they'd walked passed had checked out on first glance. There was just too many of them, they needed more information.

"Perhaps Cas knows something." Sam suggested.

"If he did, he'd've told us when he'd tried to off Amy." Dean retorted, "He's probably not even 'allowed' to share with the class."

"You said he helped you with Chuck, though." Sam pointed out, "There might be a way around it."

"No, we're doing this without their help." Dean insisted, pointing at Amelia, "That means no singing." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because that would be clever in the middle of a hospital." She snapped, "So what? We split up, start asking all the female patients if they're virgins? That's going to go down _real_ well."

"It's not that big of a hospital." Sam reasoned, "Each of us on a floor, keep an eye out and if anything suspicious arises, they give the others a call?"

"I'll take the bottom, Sam middle, Amy can be on the top." Dean agreed, smirking slightly and Amelia paused for a moment before hitting him on the arm.

"Stop perving on me." She exclaimed, seeing where his mind had gone. He held his hands up in defence, still grinning to himself.

"Hey, you're the one who thought it. I'm entirely innocent it all of this." He replied smugly and she rolled her eyes. She had half a mind to say something back to him, about her preferring being in front, but instead she just turned and stormed out, leaving the two brothers on their own.

"Dean." Sam sighed, "Really?" Dean looked at him, seemingly confused.

"What?" He asked, "I was just assigning us floors. _She's _the one who turned it all dirty."

"Yeah, of course." Sam muttered, heading out, leaving Dean to do as he pleased. His brother was such a pervert sometimes.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia looked into another ward, seeing the line of beds one each side, only maybe three quarters of it full. Full of teenage girls, like the last two she'd dived in, she wondered if Dean had purposefully put her on the Children's Ward or if it had just been an unhappy coincidence. Either way she put a smile on her face and done what she'd done in every other ward; headed to the first bed and sat down next to the very confused teenager.

"Hello," She greeted the red-headed girl, who was reading some magazine Amelia vaguely remembered from her own teenage years, pulling out her badge and showing it to her, "I'm Agent Watson, but you can call me Emily. I was wondering if we could have a quick chat?" The girl went from confused to defensive and Amelia shook her head, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. It's just routine." The girl relaxed slightly, but gave Amelia a suspicious look.

"What about?" She asked and Amelia shot her what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I just wanted to know if you'd noticed anyone acting a bit strange while you've been here." She explained, "Anyone acting out of the ordinary compared to everyone else, or how you'd expect them to be." The girl shook her head.

"No, I don't think so." She replied slowly, "I mean, Nurse Tiana brought me a fruit cup after lunch even though I'd already had one, but that's about it. Why? Is something happening?" Amelia shook her head, still smiling as she stood up.

"Nothing for you to worry about. There's a drug cartel trying to get their hands on some of the supplies kept here." She lied, sticking to that story so she didn't worry any of the kids she was talking to, "We think they're hiding as hospital staff." The girl nodded, suddenly look quite bored.

"Oh." She replied, "No, I haven't seen anything like _that_." Amelia pointed at her.

"Good." She replied, "If you do, just give me a shout, 'kay?" The girl sighed then nodded, going back to her magazine and Amelia headed to the next bed.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia sighed, leaning against the wall as she was pretty much ignored by everyone walking past her. No one had seen a thing, which basically meant she had zero to go off until something funky either happened to her or to the two Winchesters underneath her. That was always a fun way to go.

A nurse walked by her, shooting her a gentle smile and Amelia replied with one of her own. This was going to be so boring; she was very impatient.

"_Nothing really matters, to me..._" She sang quietly, making sure that her angels knew to stay away. It was her go to activity when she was bored, but she wasn't an idiot and she couldn't call a choir of angels into built up places without there being some kind of repercussion.

She briefly wondered what Cas was up to. He seemed to be quite high up on the angel food chain. He was no archangel, but he seemed to be trusted enough to be sent to the Winchesters on his own. And he really did seem to like Dean, which she could relate to. He managed to worm his way into your heart, what would she be without the older Winchester?

She started another walk around the halls, but nothing seem to have changed. All these sick children just made her sad, because while some of them were just there for being a bit ill, some of them weren't going to make it and she always felt useless when surrounded by things like this. She was the same when she saw those charity commercials, giving money never seemed to be enough.

She opened a door, entering the ward where the quarantined rooms were housed. She'd been told that while she was allowed in the corridor she was, under no circumstance, allowed to enter the rooms where the children were kept. She really hoped that whatever was going to happen wasn't going to go down in this ward.

Unfortunately, she knew better than that and when she saw the nurse who had smiled at her suddenly dropped everything she was holding and headed to one of the locked doors, Amelia wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"Hey!" Amelia called and the woman looked back at her, eyes black. Great, not just demonic, but an _actual_ demon.

"Hey yourself, sweetheart." The nurse replied. Amelia pulled out her knife and suddenly the nurse looked furious, charging at her.

The pair struggled against each other on the floor, Amelia fighting back rather well as she punched the demon in the side of her head, sending her to the ground and Amelia climbed on top of her.

"_Christo_ you're all the bloody same!" Amelia snapped, knowingly saying the Latin word and the demon hissed in pain. Amelia placed her knife against her throat, "_Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus..._" The demon howled in pain and suddenly Amelia was thrown off her and into the wall. She slid down, groaning in pain as her head slammed against the brick.

"You bitch." The demon snarled, running up to her and picking her up by her collar, holding her in place, "You're pathetic attempt to stop us in laughable!" Amelia smirked.

"_Exorcizamus te, omnis..._" The demon wrapped her hand around Amelia's throat, chocking her into silence. Amelia pulled her feet up, putting them on the nurses torso but she was unable to push her away. She grabbed the hand, trying to pull it away as her vision started to gain white spots around the edges. She needed help. She reached into her pockets, pulling out her phone, speed dialling '1' before it dropped as she started to fall unconscious.

"_Amy?_" Dean's voice barely made it to her ears, but she hoped it was enough.

Suddenly, and without warning, the demon flashed white, screaming in pain before letting her go and dropping to the floor, dead. Amelia fell with her, gasping for air. She looked up and saw Castiel there, staring stoically down at her, blue eyes dulling from the use of his grace just for a moment.

"Are you hurt?" Castiel asked her, not sounding particularly worried and she shook her head, reaching up to her lip to see if she was bleeding. She was, but no matter.

"Thanks, Cas." She offered, standing up and moving next to him, "Did you have to kill her, though?"

"She was about to break the seal." He replied factually, as if that was reason enough, which she couldn't exactly argued with.

"I know." She conceded, "But the poor woman she was riding wasn't. Couldn't we have just, I dunno, exorcised her or something?" Castiel turned to her, studying her for a moment.

"You're quite different from Dean." He declared and she chuckled, nodding.

"I suppose I am." She agreed and Dean and Sam burst into the hallway, guns at the ready. She smiled, waving once at them.

"It's alright!" She cried and the both relaxed, "Your guardian angel saved me."

"I didn't think you were allowed to intervene." Dean commented as he pocketed his gun again at the sight of the dead woman on the floor.

"I was just following my orders." Castiel replied. Amelia didn't comment on how his eyes dimmed, just looked down at the nurse.

"What do we do with her?" She asked.

"_We_ do nothing." Sam replied, looking up at Castiel, "I hate to ask, but can you..." He trailed off pointedly and after a moment of confusion on the angel's part, they appeared outside by the Impala.

"Excellent. Let's get out of here." Dean declared, climbing into the drivers seat. Sam smiled and said his thanks, climbing in as well. Amelia stood, slightly shocked at the change of pace then turned to Castiel.

"You coming with us?" She asked and he shook his head once, eyes narrowing slightly.

"No." He replied, as if she should have known that. She shrugged then shot him a smile.

"Well, thanks again for saving my ass." She offered, "I don't think I'm going to be too good at that part. I'm a lover, not a fighter." She shot him a 'peace sign' and he tilted his head as he stared at her fingers.

"What does that mean?" He asked and she looked at her fingers.

"It's a peace sign." She explained slowly, never really have thought about it before, "I guess it means I don't like all the fighting in the world."

"Amy!" Dean snapped, "Stop flirting with the angel and get in the car!" She winced, looking guilty.

"Sorry!" She called back, "See ya around, Cas!" She climbed in and they sped off, leaving Castiel outside the hospital on his own. He looked down at his hand, pulling the two-fingered sign himself, utterly perplexed on how that meant he was a pacifist.

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry it's been so long! This chapter didn't want to be written, then I had a job interview and then I had to do some programming because of that interview and... well, it got away from me :)_

_You've all been very supportive, so thank you all so very much! I figured that not all of the seals would be big, world-changing events so I hope this comes across okay and I hope you enjoy it ^_^_


	9. Chapter 9

"What?" Bobby asked quietly, which was never a good sign. If something had pissed him off, he ranted and raved but then it was over and Amelia could handle that. The 'calm before the storm' Bobby had always scared her a little bit because he it had meant he was truly angry.

It was all Dean's fault, anyway! She'd thought they'd worked through everything, and yet he'd just blurted out everything in front her Godfather about the method she used to see her angels. During an argument about Iron Maiden of all things. Did it really _matter _she didn't like them? _Really?_

"Dean!" Amelia exclaimed, as outraged as she felt she should be. He even had the decency to look slightly guilty. '_Did topping yourself so much rattle your brain?_' _Really?_

"Somebody better start doin' some explainin'." Bobby warned as Sam stood to the side, looking slightly amused as he tried to keep it back. This was not how he expected this conversation to go, it'd be fun to watch the pair try and backtrack. The two were stood in front of the older man like they were both ten and being told off for fighting. Amelia nudged Dean hard, who glared at her for a moment.

"You were going to have to tell him eventually!" Dean defended.

"Yes, on _my _terms, Dean!" She shouted back before turning to Bobby, "Look, Uncle Bobby, it's really not as big of a deal as _Dean_ is making it out to be." She tried to downplay it, "Once a year, I visit Heaven and go see this angel, Joshua." Dean scoffed next to her and she glared at him, "What?" She snapped.

"'Visit'?" He repeated sceptically, "Driving down the road is visiting. Or… Or going to the hospital to with a box of chocolates! I don't call _killing yourself_ 'visiting'."

"It isn't killing myself!" She defended, "That implies I was planning on staying dead! I knew I'd be brought back! Cameel promised."

"Is this the angel with the strange-coloured eyes?" Dean retorted pointedly.

"That's not the point, Dean!" She turned back to Bobby, ready to defend herself when she saw the look on his face. She rocked back slightly, the anger in his face actually scaring her into wanting to take a step back, "Uncle Bobby…"

"Go to your room." He bit out lowly and she blinked, surprised. Her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

"What?" She asked and he pointed to the stairs.

"Go to your room, Amelia." He told her.

"I'm 25!" She shouted and he shook his head.

"Ya lucky I'm not slappin' you silly right now." He explained, "Go. To. Your. Room. Now!" She looked at Sam, who just looked surprised, and then to Dean, who didn't seem to know how to react. Feeling frustrated and humiliated, she turned and practically ran up the stairs. The building rattled as she slammed her door shut, "Did you know about this?" He asked Dean.

"No." Dean insisted, shaking his head urgently so Bobby would believe him, "We've just found out, right Sam?" He looked to his brother for help, actually feeling slightly scared himself as Bobby focused his anger on the oldest Winchester. Bobby looked to Sam for confirmation, who nodded.

"Cas came to see us, it came out then." Sam confirmed, "We wanted her to tell you, but thought you'd prefer it in person, right?" Bobby nodded, running a hand over his face as he looked upstairs. He couldn't even process it, everything had been thrown at him so fast that he wasn't entirely sure what was happening. He'd expected her to deny what he had actually thought was a throwaway comment, tell him Dean was being an ass and leaving it at that. Not _defend_ what Dean said, try and make excuses. The girl had been in his care since she was five years old, and he'd not had a clue anything was going on. He'd thought she'd stopped singing, that this whole 'angel problem' had gone away.

"How long?" He asked them. Dean looked at Sam, raising his eyebrows and nodding to Bobby as if to tell him to explain. Sam rolled his eyes, Dean just didn't want to be shouted at again.

"Since she was 10, apparently." Sam explained.

"They told her she'd see her mum again." Dean added solemnly, knowing it would be a blow to Bobby. The man physically deflated, his shoulders slumping as his arms hung limply at his side. He made a step towards the stairs, then turned and walked out towards the kitchen.

"I need a drink."

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia paced her room, like a lion in a cage waiting to attack the person who'd put them there. She felt like a child, which, okay, she did act like most of the time but she was actually an adult. What 25 year old got sent to her room? She was at University, for God's sake!

Well, he thought she was anyway. She paused and sat down on her bed, looking at her finished walls. She was lying to him about that as well. She'd always been proud about how close they were, but she wasn't telling her Godfather anything. She was a terrible daughter.

_Knock Knock_

"It's Dean." The eldest Winchester called through before opening the door slowly. She smiled sadly as he stepped in and closed it quietly behind him, "Sorry." She shrugged.

"It was never going to be easy." She replied, "I probably would have put it off, anyway." He sat down next to her, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together.

"You've really done a number on this room, haven't you?" He teased as she chuckled slightly, her eyes stinging with the onset of tears that had him pulling her in for a hug before she'd even started crying.

"I'm sorry, Dean." She sobbed into his shoulder. He rubbed her back, nodding.

"I know." He promised, "It's not like I've never done something stupid. At least you went to Heaven." He pulled away, giving her his best joking smile, "Although I bet Hell was a lot more interesting." She laughed despite herself.

"You are such a dweeb." She teased before sobering up slightly. She looked at the walls again, she loved this room so much, "I took down a fledgling vampire nest in January." She told him suddenly and he blinked, surprised.

"On your own?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah." She sighed, "Then I dropped out of university. I lost my job, and I'm going to be made homeless soon." She tried to smile, the corner of her lips turning up briefly before they fell down again, "That's it. That's everything I can think of that I haven't told you." She shook her head, "Oh wait. Your angel friend _is_ hot. I just didn't notice to begin with, but I wouldn't say no. _That's _everything."

"Well…" Dean trailed off, stunned slightly, "Why?"

"Because I hated it." She replied instantly, "It was pointless and I…" She stood up, walking over to the window and looking out across the back yard. The whole area was covered in broken cars, a shed to one side she watched her Godfather walk into, "I just wanted to come home. Now I don't think he'll want me here anymore."

"Don't be a moron." Dean scolded, "It's _Bobby, _Amy." She turned around.

"When I was five my mum dropped me off here and never came back." She listed, "When I was 12 I went to see my best friend in a boy's home, and he didn't want to come home either." Dean opened his mouth but she held up a finger, "When I was 18, his brother went off to university and I didn't see him for _four_ years. When I was 24 my best friend went to Hell and is only here arguing with me because of Bright Eyes. Don't tell me I don't have a reason to be worried, Dean."

"Yes, and who has never left you behind?" Dean retorted, standing up, "Who only grounded you for running off to New York when you were 12? Try having a father like I did, then you can be worried. Calm down and then go tell him everything. He'll be angry, but he'll get over it. Then we can get back on the road, because seeing that you don't need to go to college anymore, you may as well be useful." He paused, frowning slightly before looking at her, confused, "_'__B__right Eyes'?_" He asked and she shrugged.

"Better than Trench Coat." She retorted.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia pushed the shed door opened as quietly as she could, anxiously worrying her lip. He was going to shout at her, and she was going to break down in tears because she could never handle him being angry at her, and this was _not_ a conversation she ever wanted to have.

Bobby was doing what he always did when he was angry, which was take his frustration out on the latest car he'd gotten as scrap that might have been in a good enough condition to fix up and sell on for a profit. He usually did this for a while before becoming too annoyed with the engine he was trying to fix and heading inside to drown it all away.

"Uncle Bobby?" She called and he stopped what he was doing, looking over his shoulder at her and she winced at the look on his face, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're sorry I found out." He replied gruffly and she couldn't really argue with that.

"I just didn't want you to be angry." She insisted, "I didn't want you to worry." He laughed harshly in disbelief.

"So you thought you'd just listen to some junkless angel and top yourself whenever you saw fit in secret?" He snapped back, "I thought I'd raised you better than that! Instead, I have to hear it from Laurel and Hardy in there!"

"It's not the same!" She exclaimed, "I wasn't ever going to stay there! Cameel always brought me back!"

"Were you dead?" He snapped back. She opened her mouth to argue, "Were you on the ground, dead to the world and on your own, at any point?" She sighed.

"Technically." She begrudgingly admitted, "But it's not the same thing! He would never have let me stay dead! You don't understand!" She almost stomped her foot like the petulant teenager she knew she sounded like. But no one was listening to her!

"I don't!" He agreed, "All I know is that my little girl was lying on the ground somewhere and I had no idea! Don't you think we've lost enough, Amelia?!" Oh, there were the tears. She felt like a little child, she felt guilty that she'd upset her Godfather, like she'd let him down and that there was more that she had to tell him.

"I'm sorry!" She shouted back, "I just wanted to see my angels! I just..." She trailed off, hiccuping slightly and he sighed, slamming the hood of the car shut with a loud bang.

"I know, you just wanted to see your mom again." He replied in a resigned tone. She rolled her eyes, of course Dean would have blabbed that.

"I was 10. I wanted to ask her why she left me with you." She explained, "I wanted to thank her for it. I wanted to know why she left me at all, and why she went into that house on her own." She shrugged, "But I couldn't. I go every year, but I never once could bring myself to see her. It was how I met Joshua, because I felt like I was betraying you." She smiled sadly at him, eyes big and shining, "You're my Uncle Bobby." She whispered it and he sighed, walking over and pulling her into a hug.

"I know, Princess." He replied gruffly, "I thought all this angel nonsense was over with."

"I don't think it ever will be." She broke to him gently, pulling away, "Cas says I'm the 'Choir Master'." He frowned.

"What the hell does that mean?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea." She admitted bluntly, "Cas made it seem like a big deal. Sam did some research, apparently the Bible is full of references to music, but nothing specific to the Choir." Bobby looked her over as she went back to worrying her lip once again. He was angry and hurt at the whole revelation. Angry that some angels had convinced her it was a good idea, and furious that she'd believed them. Part of him, a part he never liked and always had him questioning his decision to take her in all those years ago, was happy that she'd not seen her mom because of him. Another was worried over the fact that the angels seemed to want something with her and that he'd never be able to save her from that.

Unfortunately, they had bigger fish to fry these days, and there was nothing he could do about it at that moment. He may have been a drunk, but he was a rational drunk and he knew they needed to focus on the imminent start of the Apocalypse.

"Right, no more lies, okay?" He told her firmly and she nodded, "Let's go stop little Lucy getting out of his playpen, then." He started to walk out the door as Amelia watched him.

"I dropped out of Uni!" She exclaimed.

_~0~0~0~_

Dean, Sam and Amelia walked through the dark warehouse, each with their own flash light that they used to search for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was standing out, the walls seemed a little grimy, but otherwise it was like every out of the way location they'd ever been to. None of them mentioned the screaming match between Amelia and Bobby over her dropping out of university. It had been too much of a sore point to begin with, then Castiel had visited Dean in his sleep and the heat was off her. For a while, anyway.

"Well, what did he say, Dean? What was so important?" Sam asked, jumpy anyway because he'd not seen Ruby in a while, meaning he had yet another disturbed night of sleep.

"If I knew, would I be here?" Dean retorted, glancing at Amelia, "See anything 'angel like'?" He asked her.

"What do you think I am, Dean? A sniffer dog?" She replied and he shrugged, motioning to a set of metal stairs that he led the pair up.

"I don't know how it works." He told her, taking a look around the room. The machinery that had inhabited the room was strewn across the floor, broken and battered as the hissing from damaged electrics filled the air. Something exploded behind them, a small flash illuminating them for a moment, "What the hell?" Dean breathed out, stepping over something big and angular to move into the large space.

"It looks like a bomb went off." Sam agreed.

"_This_ was angels." Amelia explained quietly, shining her torch upwards at the ceiling. Cables from where some of the machinery hung down, ends frayed from being torn apart, "This is powerful stuff." They slowly made their way through the wreckage, each of the taking in the scale of the devastation.

"There was a fight here." Dean decided, taking stock of the damage and Sam frowned.

"Between who?" He asked.

"Other angels?" Amelia suggested, "Why else would Cas have been so secretive?" Coming to Dean in a dream seemed almost standard for angel communication, however not telling him anything at all and giving Dean a secret location to meet in was incredibly suspicious.

"Check it out." Dean told the pair, his flash light falling onto a large symbol on the wall, painted in blood, "Look familiar?"

"Yeah, it does." Sam replied as Amelia shook her head, never having seen it before.

"Anna used something like that to wish the angels back to the cornfield." Dean explained to Amelia, who hadn't been there to witness their first encounter of angels against angels.

"It's _Enochian_?" She asked, surprised and shining her light on it again, "I've never seen it written before."

"Why was Cas fighting angels?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Dean replied gruffly, a bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach over their angel friend. If he was okay, he should have come to meet them by now. The whole thing was throwing red lights up at every time, and not for the first time his instincts wanted to send Amelia and his little brother back to the car to wait for him. Of course, the rational side of his brain knew better, but he couldn't help the urge to protect them both. His light landed on the body of an unconscious man, lying on top of a discarded piece of machinery. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but there was no mistaking the trench coat he was wearing.

"Sam, Amy!" He cried, running over. Amelia and Sam quickly joined in, Amelia crouching next to him as he shook Castiel awake, "Cas? Cas. Hey, Cas?" Castiel woke up with a jolt, twisting in fright and looking around in panic. The moment he caught Amelia's gaze she straightened, alarmed.

"What's... What's... What's going on?" He asked, disorientated as Amelia put a hand on Dean's chest, pushing him back.

"Get away." She told him darkly, "It's not Cas." Sam's hand immediately went to his gun as Dean did what she said, jumping up.

"It isn't?" He asked and she shook her head.

"He had no grace, that's not Cas." The three looked at the man, who was checking himself over, looked up at the trio.

"Castiel?" He asked, scrambling up and looking around, as if afraid of the name, "Castiel. I'm not Castiel." He confirmed, "It's me."

"Who's 'me'?" Sam demanded, immediately suspicious as they'd just dealt with ghouls who had pretended to be someone they were not.

"Jimmy. My name's Jimmy." He replied, his voice softer than Castiel's, the way he held himself showed he had less confidence as well.

"Where the hell is Castiel?" Dean snapped.

"He's gone." Jimmy replied. Dean didn't like that answer, pulling out his gun but Amelia stepped forward.

"Are you his vessel?" She asked gently and Jimmy nodded, "My name's Amelia, this is Sam and Dean. They're a little trigger happy, but if Castiel has been in your head, you know they're good men."

"You're the girl who can sing." He replied meekly and she smiled, nodding.

"That's right." She agreed, "We need to go now, they might come back. Do you think you can do that?" He nodded, relieved that someone was taking charge of a situation he had no idea how to deal with. She held her hand out to him, and he took it, clinging to her tightly as she gently pulled towards the trio, "Now, we just have to go somewhere safe, then when you're ready, we need you to tell us what happened." She proceeded to walk him off towards the stairs, leaving Sam and Dean standing there on their own.

"I think we could have saved a lot of time doing that." Sam commented as they started to follow her.

"We should bring her on more jobs." Dean agreed, "Leave her with the screaming vics while we go and actually do our job."

"Well, she has a lot of free time now." Sam replied, "If we can convince her to stay behind..."

"She'd like that." Dean reasoned before pointing at him, a thought occurring to him, "She's always liked people. Maybe we could get her to question all the weirdos?" Sam nodded, that was a really good idea.

_~0~0~0~_

Jimmy had been hungry, it seemed, because as soon as they'd driven past a no-name fast food restaurant, he'd insisted on stopping and getting something to eat. They couldn't say no to the poor man, and soon they found themselves in their newly acquired motel room, the three men around the small table while Amelia sat one of the two beds, Jimmy eating his second burger in a matter of minutes.

"You mind slowing down? You're gonna give me angina." Dean told him gruffly after they'd sat there in silence, watching the man eat like he'd never eaten before.

"I'm hungry." Jimmy replied with a shrug, picking up the large drink that went with the meal, taking a sip to wash down the mouthful he was still working through.

"When's the last time you ate?" Sam asked him.

"I don't know. Months." Jimmy replied, taking another bite of the burger and groaning in a sort of pleasure. Sam shared a look with his brother before shifting, settling down for the serious talk.

"What the hell happened back there?" He asked, "It looked like an angel battle royale."

"All I remember is a flash of light and I, uh . . . I woke up and I was just, you know, like, me again." Jimmy replied, sounding like he didn't really want to talk about.

"So, what? Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?" Dean asked, wanting to get to the bottom of what had happened. The place had been torn apart, this man left in the middle and it none of it felt right to him. Why would an angel just ditch a willing vessel?

"That can't be right." Amelia spoke up from the bed, crossing one leg over the other, "Why would he just up and leave? If he'd wanted to escape, he'd've taken Jimmy with him. And it takes some powerful magic to tear an angel from it's vessel." Dean turned to Sam, nodding in her direction.

"Listen to Miss Angel over there." He muttered and she glared at him.

"I know more than you do, asshat." She snapped, "Cas didn't leave because he wanted to." She said it with certainty, because nothing else made any sense to her. Why would any angel leave their vessel in a fight like the one Castiel had obviously been in?

"You remember anything about being possessed?" Sam asked Jimmy, "Anything at all?"

"Yeah, bits and pieces." He replied as he moved onto his last burger, "I remember you two, briefly. And her, of course," He nodded over at Amelia, who blinked in surprise, "But, I mean, angel inside of you, it's kinda like being chained to a comet."

"Ah, that doesn't sound like much fun." Dean replied and Jimmy nodded.

"Understatement." He agreed. He never realised how much he loved burgers up until this moment. He'd have to eat them more often.

"Cas said he wanted to tell us something. Please tell me you remember that." Sam half-begged but Jimmy shook his head.

"Sorry." He offered. Dean rolled his eyes, not at Jimmy but in frustration that they could never catch a break, nothing was never that easy.

"Come on, what do you know?" He asked. Jimmy paused, thinking back to the last thing he could remember. The sound of the voice singing, he glanced over at Amelia, he could hear her singing the song from The Little Mermaid clearer than he'd heard anything before. Claire had loved that movie when she was a little girl. And that's when he remembered them, his face falling in devastation.

"My name is Jimmy Novak." He told them slowly, "I'm from Pontiac, Illinois. I have a family. A wife and a daughter, who I haven't seen in a year. I abandoned them." His head hung, ashamed, and Amelia stood up. She walked over and perched herself on Dean's knee, taking Jimmy's hand in hers.

"We'll get you back to them." She promised him gently, "And until then, you'll be safe with us, okay?" She smiled warmly at him. Jimmy replied with a soft one of his own, the kind woman reminding him of his wife in more than just name, but Sam wasn't happy with this development. He looked at Dean, his 'bitchface' in place and he stood up.

"Dean, a word." He demanded before storming outside. Dean rolled his eyes and nudged Amelia off his knee before following his little brother out.

"Dweebs." She muttered under her breath, watching the door shut behind them. She had no idea what was up with the youngest Winchester, but the look on his face had been the same as the one he'd worn the entire time they'd been with 'Adam'. Hopefully Dean could sort it out, he was the only one who could.

"I remember you singing." Jimmy stated softly and she turned back to look at him, bewildered.

"Really?" She asked, "You remember _that_?" He nodded.

"It was really important." He explained slowly, like he was struggling to recall why, "But your voice came through loud and clear. You have a really pretty voice." She blushed slightly, patting the back of his hand as she let it go.

"Thanks." She replied, "Tell me about your family." He smiled wistfully.

"I have a daughter, Claire." He started immediately, the pride in his voice almost tangible, "Beautiful blonde thing, just like her mother. She'll be 13 now." That hurt, he'd missed an important day in his daughter's life, when she became a teenager. What else had he'd missed? "And my wife. She's called Amelia too."

"There's a lot of us around." She joked, hoping to cheer him up slightly.

"Should I ring them?" He asked her suddenly, the thought only occurring to him as how much he missed them washed over him. He just wanted to hear their voices again, tell them he was coming home.

"No." She replied apologetically, "I don't think you should."

"Why not?" He asked, hurt and offended, "I thought you said I was going to see them again!"

"You are." She promised, hands out in front of her in surrender, "But if someone I hadn't seen or heard from in a year, someone I probably thought was dead, suddenly called me, I wouldn't believe them at all. You'll just upset them." He nodded, sighing in defeat as he settled back into his chair.

"But I will see them again?" He asked and she nodded.

"I swear." She promised.

She hadn't expected Dean and Sam to come back in and announce that Jimmy wasn't going anywhere, effectively breaking her promise before it'd even begun.

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry it's been so long again, I'm not doing very well am I? Now I've finished my Doctor Who story, I should be able to catch this one up a little bit. No promises, but we'll see ^_^_

_Also changed the Britishism, thanks sweetie XD_


	10. Chapter 10

"You're the one who told him he wouldn't see his family again." Amelia argued from the back of the Impala, "Don't blame me."

"He wouldn't have had the idea to go see them if _you_ hadn't told him he'd see them again." Sam bit back. He'd been in a foul mood from the moment he realised Jimmy had escaped their watch, furious at himself that he'd gotten the slip on them, and at both Dean and Amelia for not taking it more seriously, "I don't see why we're driving, anyway. Couldn't your magic angel friends just, I dunno, poof us there or something?"

"I don't think summoning angels is the best idea right now, Sam." She replied snidely, crossing her arms, "We've already got a runaway vessel, let's keep the celestial bodies down to a minimum, okay?"

"Fat lot of good they are." Sam grumbled, turning to look out of the passenger window and Dean glanced at his brother even as Amelia's eyes narrowed.

"Hey." He snapped, tired of his brother's attitude, "You're the one who went to get a Coke, don't go getting all bitchy with her because you left your post." Sam sighed, trying to calm himself down and he glanced back at Amelia.

"Sorry." He muttered, like a kid who was being made to apologise by his dad and Amelia shrugged.

"'S fine." She murmured in reply, even though it wasn't. Something was wrong with Sam, but neither she nor Dean knew what so until they could figure it out what was going on with him, they had to pretend nothing was. They didn't want to give whatever was doing this to him the heads up, "I'm just going to call Uncle Bobby, let him know where we're headin'."

"I thought you still weren't talking to him after the catfight you two had?" Dean joked, Sam rolling his eyes even though he was grateful the subject had been changed.

"I'm not." Amelia agreed, pulling her cell out of her pocket, "But I don't want him to worry." Dean shook his head with a small smile. When he was younger, he'd been jealous of her having a parental figure who would worry, now he was just glad she did, "Hey, Uncle Bobby. It's Amelia, we've hit a bit of a problem…" Dean turned her out for a moment, concentrating on where he was driving as she explained the situation to Bobby.

"Hey, guys." Amelia jumped slightly, more used to random people appearing than the other two as a red-headed angel appeared next to her. Both Sam and Dean jumped, Dean losing control of the Impala for a moment.

"Aah! Jeez." He exclaimed angrily, jerking the steering wheel and pulling the car back under his control.

"Smooth." The angel commented and Amelia snorted slightly at the almost sarcastic tone she took on. She guessed this was Anna, by the way they were more surprised her appearing than the angel herself, and a quick glance at her eyes confirmed this. Her eyes shone with a white light, but nothing like Castiel's.

"I'll call you back, Uncle Bobby." She said into the cell phone before hanging up.

"You ever try calling ahead?" Dean snapped.

"I like the element of surprise." She replied before turning to Amelia, "Who are you?" She didn't look suspicious, but Amelia wasn't taking any chances after Castiel. She held her hands up in front of her.

"Amelia. Amelia Miller." She quickly explained, "Castiel says I'm the 'Choir Master' or something." Anna's eyebrows shot up in shock for a moment before nodding.

"Okay." Amelia double took as Anna turned back to the two boys, immediately accepting her answer, "You let Jimmy get away?" She asked Dean, who motioned to Sam with his thumb.

"Talk to ginormo here." Sam shot him an incredulous look as Anna turned her attention to him, frowning slightly.

"Sam." She greeted, "You seem… different." Dean looked at his little brother curiously as Sam straightened, almost defensively.

"Me?" He replied, slightly high pitched, just confirming something was wrong, "I don't know. Heh. A haircut?" He suggested with a laugh.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Anna replied, staring at him sadly until he turned away, trying to act like she was making it up. She turned to look at the back of Dean's head, "So, what'd Jimmy tell you? He remember anything?"

"Why? What's going on?" Dean asked.

"It's Cas." She replied, sounding concerned which was strange knowing it was worry coming from an angel, "He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back."

"I knew it." Amelia exclaimed, sitting forward and grabbing hold of the back of Dean's seat, "No angel just leaves his vessel like that." She turned to Anna, "Is he okay?" Anna's brows furrowed, her head tilting as she look over Amelia for a moment.

"You care about his wellbeing?" She asked and Amelia rolled her eyes.

"He was an _angel_ who was _dragged_ from his vessel." She replied pointedly, "Of course I pissing am. Is he okay?" Anna shook her head.

"I seriously doubt it." She replied and Dean glanced at the pair in his rear-view mirror. Amelia looked horrified, but he wasn't feeling too great about that news himself.

"So Cas _was_ dragged back to heaven?" He asked, "That's not a good thing, right?" Anna shook her head, turning her attention back to him.

"No." She agreed, "That's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad. He must have seriously pissed someone off."

"Cas said he had something to tell me. Something important." Dean explained and Anna seemed to perk up at this, shifting to the edge of her seat.

"What?" She asked eagerly and Dean shook his head.

"I don't know." He admitted.

"Does Jimmy know?" Anna pressed and Dean shook his head again.

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Anna exclaimed in disbelief, "Whatever it is, it's huge. You gotta find out for sure."

"That's why we're going after Jimmy." Sam pointed out and she shot him a dark look.

"That's why you shouldn't have let him go in the first place." She reminded him and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "He's probably dead already." She glanced up at Dean, "You have to find him before anyone else, Dean." And then, with no warning, she disappeared.

"Poor Cas." Amelia whispered, settling back into her chair.

"Oh, trust you to have the hots for the giant baby angel." Dean teased and Amelia glared at the back of his head.

"Seriously, Dean?" She asked in exasperation, "Because I'm worried about him? Jealous much?" Sam smirked at the indignant look that appeared on Dean's face.

"No!" He protested and Amelia giggled as he sulked, embarrassed by his outburst, "Shut up." He told them both, even though neither of them were speaking and it just caused them to laugh more. Great.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia peaked into the windows, spotting the man with black eyes take the little girl by the arm, placing a knife to her neck.

"Demons!" She hissed at Dean, who nodded and motioned Sam to head in first. All three of them were ready and waiting, Dean with the demon knife and the moment everyone inside was distracted, Dean pounced, slicing the neck open of the demon who had hold of Claire, causing him to drop to the floor. The other demon, possessing a woman, looked over from where she was attacking Jimmy, having been taken unaware. Sam hand was immediately out, holding her in place as Amelia rushed forward to the girl, holding her hands out.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm okay." She quickly reassured her as the girl shrank away, "Come on, princess." She gently grabbed her hand, but firmly pulled her over to who she guessed was her mum, "Amelia, right?" The blonde haired woman nodded, "Me too. We have to go." Jimmy climbed up after realising the demon on top of him was incapacitated, rushing over to his family.

"Come on." He insisted and the four rushed out towards the Impala.

_~0~0~0~_

Amelia, Dean, Sam and Jimmy all stood outside the warehouse, Jimmy pacing to and fro in agitation and frustration. They'd told him his family would be safe he went with them, but they weren't and now not only was his wife possessed, but they had their daughter as well.

"Alright, they're expecting you to come alone. That's exactly what you're gonna do." Dean explained to him, not even sure the man was listening, but he knew he wouldn't be either.

"We'll work our way through the catwalks. We'll be right behind you." Sam added.

"All you gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job." Jimmy paused, looking at Dean like he had two heads.

"You want me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about." He raged and Amelia stepped forwards, placing a hand on his arm, now covered in the trench coat.

"We know." She told him gently, "It's not going to be easy, but they need you to not do anything stupid, okay?" He nodded slowly, the woman reassuring him slightly. Something about her made him want to believe her more, maybe it was the name. He glanced up at the building, thinking about the demon in there using his wife the same way Castiel had used him.

"Just give me a minute, okay?" He asked and she nodded. He turned on his heels and headed towards the warehouse, leaving the trio to watch him. Sam didn't really seem to care, dismissing the man the moment to address his brother.

"There's no way they're expecting him to come alone, Dean. You know this is probably a trap." Dean rolled his eyes. Did Sam really think he'd only started doing this yesterday?

"Yeah, I know. That's why I have a plan." He replied and Sam frowned.

"Really?" He asked and Dean nodded, looking smug, "And what is it, exactly?" Dean pointed to Amelia with his thumb.

"Miss Angel here." Amelia's head shot around as she stared with big eyes at him.

"Excuse me?" She asked, "What happened to me keeping quiet?"

"Yeah, well, I was wrong, okay?" He retorted, "It's simple. We go in, pretend to sneak around and inevitably get caught, right?" The pair nodded, "Then, when the time's right, Amelia belts out a tune and saves the vessel and his family while we send these demon bastards back home. Simple enough for you?" Sam rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He muttered, "Let's get this over with."

_~0~0~0~_

They were captured quite quickly, which worked to their advantage as they were all dragged from their separate locations to Jimmy by their own special little demon, having put up a mediocre fight just for show. Claire was tied to a chair, unharmed but also unconscious as the other Amelia stood between the young girl and Jimmy.

"Nice plan, Dean." Sam half-heartedly scolded his brother.

"Yeah, well done on the not getting caught thing." Amelia snapped on the end, trying to yank her arm from the grasp of a rather large man who had a demon inside of him. Poor bastard.

"Yeah, well, nobody bats 1,000." Dean replied with a sheepish grin. The demon inside Jimmy's wife ignored their petty bickering and turned to the woman holding Sam.

"Got the knife?" In reply, the demon showed her the knife and she smirked, hands clasped behind her back, "And you know what's funny?" She asked the trio.

"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean retorted, hoping to rile her up but she just continued to smirk to herself, believing she'd won.

"Is I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap." She waved at them, "A couple of Winchesters and their chubby stray."

"Hey!" Both Amelia and Dean exclaimed indignantly, "She is not chubby." Dean defended, while Amelia went with, "I'm not a stray." Sam rolled his eyes at the pair.

"Yeah, well, you got us, okay? Let these people go." He demanded.

"Oh, Sam." She replied mockingly, head tilted to one side as she observed the younger Winchester, "It's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh? Now for the punch line. Everybody dies." She pulled out a gun, aiming it at Sam and Amelia readied herself, shooting Dean a look that he returned with a nod. Then the demon turned and shot at Jimmy, the bullet bouncing off the white light barrier that appeared just in time, Amelia belting out a single, long note. The demons all hissed, covering their eyes from the holy light and letting the trio girl.

"Kill her!" The demon Amelia screamed at her minions, who all turned away and went to attack her. The white light jumped from in front of Jimmy to her, sending them the opposite way and into Sam and Dean. A quick struggle had Sam back in possession of the demon knife, even if he was too weak at the moment to fight off the female on top of him, while Dean rushed over to Jimmy.

"You need to get out of here." He told the vessel quickly, "Grab your daughter and run."

"What about Amelia?" He asked and Dean shot him an apologetic look.

"Look, man, we'll _try._" Was all he could off and Jimmy nodded when suddenly the pair were surrounded by the light once more. They'd missed one of the other demons heading towards them, but she'd stopped them with a point of her finger. She could only control them to a degree, and she could only direct them into one place at once. Dean turned to give the heads up she could stop when he saw the demon jump her from behind.

"Amy!" He yelled as she fell with a scream, the white light vanishing along with the angelic harmonies that went along with it as her singing was cut off. The two men were pounced on by the two remaining minions as Sam was still in the corner, wrestling with his for dominance in his own fight. Then the one on top of Jimmy screamed, glowing brightly as he burnt away and fell to the floor, dead. Jimmy's heart stopped as his daughter stood there, hand out where she'd touched the demon and he knew exactly what had done it.

"Castiel?" He breathed but the girl didn't reply, turning and making quick work of Dean's problem, "No…"

"Come on." Dean barked, pulling him up and running over to help Amelia, taking a swing at the large man, barely knocking him but giving Castiel ample time to take care of him as well. Amelia panted, barely registering what was happening as Dean yanked her up and they headed to Sam just in time to see him dip his head, sucking the blood out of neck. Amelia gasped, grabbing hold of Dean's arm as he could only stare on at his brother in horror.

Sam glanced over his shoulder, spotting the foursome staring at him, Claire with indifference, Jimmy looking overwhelmed and Amelia and Dean with looks of terror. However, none of it mattered because he felt powerful, better than he had in weeks and he turned back, raising the demon knife over his head in both hands before plunging the knife into her chest. She screamed and crackled as the demon inside died and he was filled with a sense of triumph, and it felt fantastic. He stood up, turning and ready to try and explain himself when he spotted the demon Amelia charging at the four. His hand shot out and Dean spun around, pulling their Amelia back as they watched the demon be exorcised by the powers Sam now how complete control over. The human woman dropped the floor and Dean was immediately by her side, shooting a cautious glance at Sam as he checked to see if she was alright.

Jimmy, seeing his wife safe turned all his attention to his beautiful daughter, whose face help no emotion, just a cold look.

"Claire…" He breathed again, devastated that he'd done this. He'd brought the angel into their lives, and now his daughter was paying for it.

"Of course we keep our promises." Castiel replied in Claire's voice, "Of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Live your life, Jimmy, and we have a space for you in heaven when you're done." The little girl turned to walk away but Jimmy grabbed her arm, using all his strength to halt him taking his little girl away.

"No." He begged, "Claire?"

"She's with me now." Castiel explained factually, "She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours." Jimmy shook his head, falling to his knees so he was at eyelevel with her.

"Please, Castiel." He beseeched, sobbing, "Me, just take me. Take me, please." Dean, who had helped Amelia up and over to Sam and their Amelia, glanced down to see her with both hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face with a look he could only describe as devastation on her face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and placing a kiss on top of her hair.

"His eyes…" She whimpered, confusing him slightly.

"I want to make sure you understand." Castiel continued, "You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it." Jimmy shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me. Yes. I said yes." Castiel nodded once.

"As you wish." Jimmy revelled in the feeling of his daughter's hand touching his face one last time, knowing that this wasn't even the beginning of his atonement for what he'd done to the two women he'd loved more than anything. His body exploding in blinding heat, and then Castiel was there as Claire buckled under the release of energy. He spared her only a glance as Amelia dashed forward to take hold of her daughter. Castiel watched them for a moment with no expression before turning and walking away.

"Cas, hold up." Dean called lowly after him and he paused, turning on his heal to look at the three, "What were you gonna tell me?" His eyes narrowed slightly.

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean." He replied harshly, his voice now as gravelly as they were used to it being, "I serve heaven, I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve you." With that, he turned and headed out of the warehouse. Amelia, to Dean's surprise, pushed off her friend.

"Cas!" She screamed, running after him and only catching him up on the gravel outside. He stared at her, looking slightly confused as to why she seemed to be crying. It intrigued him, and he quickly pushed the feeling down, "What did they do to you?" She begged.

"It is none of your concern." He replied.

"Like hell it isn't!" She snapped back, "Cas, I can see it in your grace. What did they do to you?" He sighed in anger, taking a few steps towards her, trying to intimidate her but she held her ground.

"I held back important information." He told her pointedly, "I will _not_ make that mistake again." And he disappeared, leaving Dean to walk slowly up to her, staring at the point Cas had been standing.

"What's happened to his grace?" He asked her gently and she turned, opening her mouth a couple of times as she tried to form it into words. Castiel's grace, which she would freely admit had been one of the most beautiful lights she had ever seen, was no longer the bright blue it had been. The light had dimmed to a dull, almost non-existent grey, with all she could describe as black marks where it had died off completely.

"An angel's grace," she started after a moment, "is like a human's soul. It makes them who they are, it's not just their powers, it's everything." She looked Dean in the eyes, "I don't think that when you were pulled out of Hell your soul would have looked like that, Dean. They've disseminated him. I'd hate to even imagine what he's wings look like."

"That bad?" Dean asked, surprised even though it was obvious there had been something wrong with Cas, his attitude had reverted and Dean knew he didn't want to be like that anymore. Amelia nodded, not replying as she looked out into the large yard. Castiel's words floated around and around in her head, she was certain it meant something about her angels, but she thought he'd have told them after they'd talked in the bar. There was a reason her angels were keeping her hidden.

"What do we do about Sam?" She asked, not wanting to talk about it anymore, and knowing they had a more pressing matter at hand. Dean sighed, running a hand over his face because he really didn't know.

"Right," He declared, "You go sort out Amelia and Claire. Tell them it should be over now, but they still need to get somewhere safe. I'll sort Sam out." She nodded slowly, looking unconvinced and Dean forced a smile onto his face, making her look at him, "Hey, you know it'll be alright, don't ya Princess?" She let out a little breathy laugh, a small smile appearing on her face. She always responded well when he used Bobby's pet name for her.

"I know." She replied, even if neither of them were sure. She patted him on the arm and headed back into the warehouse, "Be careful out here."

"Don't worry about me." Dean bragged, already pulling out his cell, "I'm friggin' amazing."

_~0~0~0~__  
_

_Sorry it's been so long, even though I said it wouldn't be. I'm pretty useless at that, aren't I? XD Anyway, I hope this was okay, only a little glance of Cas though, and it's always better with more than less, isn't it?_

_Anyway, leave me a little review if you want, I'd really appreciate it and all I can do is promise to try and update a bit quicker next time XD_


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